The Stock Ledger Put Our Missing Shares In Cormac's Name

I checked the sum three times.

My 120,000 shares. Leon's 24,000. Priya's 8,000. Tess's 64,000.

Together, 216,000.

The ledger said those shares had gone back to the company on June 30, 2019. Then it listed a grant of the same number to Cormac that day.

"Performance recognition," Ruth read.

Ines made a sound like a drawer slamming shut.

"The board never approved that while I was keeping the books."

"We'll request the approval he relies on," Ruth said.

Cormac had held 204,000 shares before the change. The buyer's chart gave him 420,000. He had more than doubled his stake without adding one sheet of seaweed to the drying rack.

The next morning, we met him at Brinefold's lawyer's office in Wilmington.

Rain ran down the train windows on the way north. I carried copies in a plain folder. The originals stayed in Nana's locked box.

Ruth had arranged the meeting. Simon attended for Heron by video. Two outside board members sat across from us: Leora Moss, an early investor, and Evan Fitch, who ran shipping.

Cormac wore a blue suit I had seen in a magazine photo beside our product.

"This is a regrettable narrative distortion," he began.

Ruth placed the ledger in front of him.

"Show us the signed transfers."

"We've provided the acknowledgments."

"Show us the payment for the shares."

"The amounts formed part of a broader compensation arrangement."

"Show us that arrangement."

He looked toward his lawyer. She did not rescue him.

"We are still collecting records," she said.

Leora turned a page.

"Cormac, you certified this list to us. You said the old holders had accepted buyouts."

"At the time, that was my understanding."

"Did you tell us you received their shares?"

He adjusted his watch.

"It was economically neutral within the growth structure."

I heard myself laugh once. It was not a happy sound.

"Neutral for who?"

He looked straight at me for the first time.

"You were a sample clerk. You didn't bear executive risk."

"I took less pay for shares. You signed the promise."

My hands stayed flat on the table. That mattered to me more than winning the exchange.

Simon spoke from the screen.

"Heron will not close with unresolved title claims or the consent condition unmet. We need a corrected record supported by evidence."

He did not call me difficult. He did not call me brave. He put the problem where it belonged.

The board members asked Cormac to leave while they spoke with counsel.

He paused beside my chair.

"Be careful about the value you destroy," he said quietly.

Ruth looked up.

"Please address any proposal to me."

Outside the room, I found a vending machine and bought a $1.75 bag of crackers. I had forgotten breakfast.

Tess called.

"Did he explain it?"

"He gave it a longer name."

When we returned, Leora said the board had hired an independent accounting firm and a document examiner. Cormac would take administrative leave while they reviewed his records. Evan would handle daily operations.

"We should have asked for the underlying papers," Leora said. "We relied on his summary."

"Yes," I said.

I did not soften it for her.

The company would pay the review costs. Our lawyer would get the relevant results under a written arrangement that let us use evidence to protect our claims.

For the first time since the loading dock, I could take a full breath.

On the ride home, June sent a picture of the lab's sample shelf. Someone had stacked incoming lots on top of retained controls. I wanted to tell her exactly how to fix it.

Instead, I wrote, Ask Evan to assign someone to the sample log. Keep the controls apart from new stock.

I was still outside the building. Caring about the work did not make me responsible for doing it without pay.

It did not last.

Three days later, the accountant found a dividend approved in 2023: one dollar per share, paid from a profitable supply contract.

I had received no notice and no payment. Neither had the others.

Cormac had received $420,000. With his proper stake, he would have received $204,000.

There was our missing $216,000 again.

Ruth added the dividend records to our claim. She asked the company to preserve enough money to cover the dispute.

That evening, a courier delivered a sealed envelope to Nana's house.

Cormac's personal lawyer offered me $90,000 to sign a full release, approve the sale, and keep quiet.

The offer expired at noon the next day.

Behind it sat a draft complaint accusing me of interfering with the sale. The demand line sought damages "in excess of $2,000,000."

I called Ruth and read the number aloud.

"Don't answer him," she said. "I'm looking at the same envelope. There's something else you need to see."