Chapter 43 - The Palace of Nations
The Palais des Nations in Geneva loomed under a pale, gray European winter sky. Armed security guards and international journalists crowded the grand stone steps, their camera lenses flashing like a swarm of mechanical fireflies as our black town car pulled up to the main entrance.
I stepped out of the vehicle wearing a tailored ivory wool coat over a charcoal business suit, my head held high, my posture projecting absolute, unshakeable authority. Arthur flanked my right side, scanning the crowd with practiced, razor-sharp vigilance.
We walked through the grand marble corridors, escorted by two WHO attachés, until we reached the high-ceilinged assembly hall where the tribunal was already in session.
Ambassador Laurent sat at the center of the elevated mahogany bench, flanked by six international delegates whose expressions ranged from polite skepticism to thinly veiled hostility. The public gallery behind us was packed to capacity with reporters, bioethicists, and representatives from competing pharmaceutical cartels.
"Dr. Evelyn Vale, Chief Executive Officer of Vale Meridian," Ambassador Laurent announced, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings. "The floor is yours. You have thirty minutes to explain why your enterprise should retain its global pediatric licensing rights in light of the unauthorized black-budget research conducted by your predecessor's syndicate."
I did not use the podium. Instead, I stepped away from the table, walking slowly out into the open space before the tribunal bench, letting my presence fill the cavernous room.
"Ambassador Laurent, esteemed members of the committee," I began, my voice clear, steady, and carrying an effortless, commanding resonance. "You ask why Vale Meridian should retain its licenses. I ask you a different question: where was this oversight committee when Julian Thorne and Dr. Evelyn Ross were siphoning public funds and weaponizing medical science behind closed doors?"
A murmur rippled through the public gallery. Laurent cleared his throat, leaning forward. "Dr. Vale, please confine your remarks to—"
"I am confining them directly to the core issue," I interrupted smoothly, holding his gaze without a flinch. "For years, international regulatory bodies looked the other way while rogue corporations experimented on human lives under the banner of corporate innovation. When I took control of Vale Meridian, I did not just clean house—I exposed the corruption, handed the criminals over to federal custody, and transformed a corrupt syndicate into the premier ethical medical institution on this planet."
I turned slightly, addressing the entire assembly hall.
May you like
"You invited me here today under the guise of transparency, hoping to audit our source code and claim our intellectual property for your own political interests. Let me make one thing crystal clear: Vale Meridian's genetic patents are not up for negotiation. We saved thousands of children when your committees offered nothing but bureaucratic silence. If you choose to freeze our trials, you aren't punishing my company—you are sentencing innocent children to death. And I will ensure the entire world knows exactly which names signed that order."
Silence fell over the grand hall so absolute that you could hear the winter wind whistling against the reinforced stained-glass windows.
