Sora woke up the next morning to a slew of text messages and a frantic shouting at her door. She stumbled down hastily, hoping to quiet her intruder before they woke Tommy.

She found her former stepson hopping frantically from foot to foot whilst tapping away at his iPad.

"Sam, what are you doing here?"

"You need to get dressed. We've got to get you online."

"What are you talking about? It's almost 4 in the morning."

"It's 7 on the East Coast. Don't just stand there, get dressed."

"No! Not until you tell me what's going on here."

"It's my dad. He called a 'no-confidence' vote for now."

Sora's world stopped.

"We won't have time to drive to Himura to stop him in person, but I can link you up for a teleconference from dad's old home office. Go get dressed, we don't have a second to lose."

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because...he's done enough. This is too much. He's got to stop this. The bad press will kill this company before anything else does."

Sora knew what that admissions must have cost him. Losing Anthony's regard, or worse, was tantamount giving up the family he'd yearned for all his life.

"I'll keep your name out of it."

Sam's grateful smile was blinding.

"Thanks."

Sora rushed into her bedroom to change from her nightclothes into a blouse and blazer. She opted not to change out of her pajama bottoms since they wouldn't be appear on camera. Sam was tapping away at her home computer when she returned to the study.

"The Board's calling in from around the country. You'll be another talking head on the screen, but they should all be able to see you and hear you." He pointed to the mounted webcam. "Direct your eyes here. If you have anything you want to say to me, pass me a note. I'll be right on the other side of the monitor, watching this whole thing go down."

"Can I borrow your phone, mine is charging."

He slid his iPhone across the polished desk.

Sora waivered on whether to let Ravi know what was going on. She didn't want to interrupt his quality time with Dhiren. They didn't see one another often enough to say he was home for summer. She delayed the decision by calling Tracy first.

There were five rings before the call clicked over to voicemail.

"You told me to call if Anthony tried it again. He's trying it now. You need to be here. Call Sam. He'll patch you in." Sora ended the call, spinning Sam's cell back to him.

"Don't stop calling her until you get an answer."

"I'm on it."

Sora tried to shake her nerves as her teleconference screen began to buffer. There were eight windows up, each boasting a name and location for each attending member of the Himura Board.

There are fifteen Board Members. Sixteen if Evelyn hasn't resigned. Why am I only seeing nine? Eight if one of these windows is Anthony. We do not have a quorum.

Sora pulled a note from her desk organizer to scribble a note, then pushed it toward Sam. He frowned, shaking his head.

No quorum.

She straightened her blouse and threw back her shoulders. She resonated Hana.

Sam threw up his hand to draw her eyes.

He mouthed, "5...4...3...2..."

Sora's screen flashed to life with her reflection. She could see the instant she appeared on their screens by the chorus line of blinking eyes, tensing jaws, and rising shoulders. Nobody likes to be caught red-handed. Anthony was right at the center, his entire body bracketed by images of disembodied heads. If Sora had her guess she'd say he was standing in the Himura Media conference room. Start as you mean to go on.

He was speechless at the sight of her.

"Good morning, Anthony. I'm sure you meant to invite me to this meeting since it was about me in the first place. You must have forgotten my number."

"Sora."

"That's my name."

"You're not supposed to be here."

"Why not? This is my job we're talking about, as the Board well knows since they supported my appointment to the position of CEO. I've spoken to each of you on multiple occasions. In fact, we had a meeting just this week about the gains Himura Media has made under my leadership. Was there something you forgot to discuss with me?"

Every one of the bobbing heads on her screen shifted uncomfortably. Sora knew a coup when she saw one.

"Take your time, I'll wait."

"As owner of this company, I'm not satisfied with your performance. For that reason, I've called a no-confidence vote to have you removed."

"I don't believe you've reported your reservations to me, Mr. Himura. Perhaps if you'd called, I could have answered your concerns."

"You weren't interested in what I had to say."

"That's usually true, but on this matter, I'm afraid I have to disagree."

They all started in tandem when a last box popped up showing a very frazzled Tracy Himura sans makeup.

"It's seven in the morning. I need a very good reason to be up this early on a Saturday."

Anthony smirked. "We're voting on the CEO position."

"It's not up for a vote for at least another month."

"I'm pushing up the date."

"No, you're not. You don't have the authority to do that."

"As 49% owner of this company, you bet your ass I do."

"48.5%," Tracy corrected,  squinting at her screen. "You have eight members. By the bylaws, this is not a quorum. You can't vote on critical business without a quorum. What are you playing at, Anthony?"

"It's time for us to get Himura Media back on the right track."

"Based on whose definition?"

"Our father's."

"Bull. Shut this meeting down or I'll fly down and shut it down personally. I'll bring a whole team of lawyers and we'll divest you of more than that ridiculous facial hair." For the hundreds of miles between them, there was no question that Tracy was looking at Anthony Himura, Jr. alone.

A talking head from Albuquerque braved the icy silence.

"Ms. Himura, you don't have the authority—"

"You're a proxy. Don't think I don't know the board members on sight. If I call Evan Scarsdale and he's fast asleep at this hour, I will know you've been bought and you'll spend the next ten to twenty in Club Fed. Try me."

The talking head from New Mexico was so silenced.

"You want this company back, Anthony. Earn it. Show us you know how to be something besides an embarrassment to the Himura name. I'm sick of the dirty dealings. I'm damned sick of the scandal. Dad was enough. You were supposed to bring about a change."

"So I've disappointed you. How touching."

"You will never get to be CEO again, not as long as I'm able to fight. Go home, Anthony. Collect your paycheck. Take up a hobby that doesn't include isn't committing felonies with impunity. Then, we'll talk."

"You can't keep me out forever, Tracy. I'm too good."

Tracy's normally genial expression turned stony.

"You did an end run around me. You shouldn't have done that. I'll see you on Monday."

Tracy's screen skipped to black. In the loaded beats to follow, the other eight screens followed suit until only Sora and Anthony remained.

"Monday," she echoed and signaled for Sam to terminate the call.

He did.