Only one. On camera, from the smaller conference room overlooking the river, in the same cream suit and with dark circles still faint beneath my makeup because reality wore my face and I was tired of pretending powerful women materialize only after sleep. Maris stood off-camera. Counsel reviewed the wording once.
“Vertex Dynamics is entering a new phase of leadership,” I said. “Effective today, Ryan Collins is no longer employed by the company. We will not be discussing my marriage. We will be discussing standards. No executive is entitled to power they cannot hold ethically. No employee should fear retaliation for speaking about misconduct. And no woman in this organization should ever be made to feel that motherhood reduces her value.”
That statement went everywhere.