Chapter 6
The mahogany boardroom table on the forty-fifth floor of Vance Enterprises stretched out like a runway of dark, polished intimidation. Around it sat the seven members of the executive board, their expressions a mixture of nervous discomfort and calculating ambition. At the head of the table sat Julian, his posture straight, his eyes fixed on the empty chair beside him—the chair traditionally reserved for Victoria Sterling. Despite her incarceration at the Cook County Department of Corrections, Victoria’s legal and financial influence loomed heavily over the room like an approaching storm front.
The heavy double doors swung open, and Victoria’s lead attorney, a sharp-faced man named Marcus Vance—no relation, though he shared the family’s ruthless ambition—walked in with unearned confidence. He carried a sleek leather briefcase, setting it down with a deliberate thud before pulling out a thick stack of papers.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen, and Mr. Vance," Marcus said smoothly, offering a tight, patronizing smile as he took a seat directly across from Julian. "Given my client’s temporary and highly regrettable absence due to an unfortunate domestic misunderstanding, I am here to exercise her voting proxies."
Julian didn't blink. He kept his hands flat on the table, his fingers laced together. "Victoria Sterling is facing felony charges for aggravated battery and the unlawful termination of a pregnancy, Mr. Vance. Her voting rights on this board are subject to immediate review under the corporate ethics clause."
Marcus chuckled, a dry, dismissive sound that irritated the remaining board members. "Ethics clauses require a conviction, Julian. Until a court of law determines otherwise, my client remains the majority stakeholder of the company’s Class B voting shares. And under those shares, she is calling for an immediate vote of no confidence in your leadership as Chief Executive Officer."
Murmurs rippled through the boardroom. Two board members, lifelong loyalists to Victoria’s financial faction, nodded in quiet agreement. The corporate coup had been planned months in advance, perfectly timed to coincide with Julian’s personal devastation. They believed he was broken, distracted by grief, and utterly incapable of mounting an effective defense.
Julian stood up slowly, leaning forward over the table to tower over Marcus. He didn't raise his voice; instead, he spoke with a terrifying, absolute calm that commanded the entire room.
"You think I’m distracted?" Julian asked softly. He reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a small flash drive, and slid it across the polished wood until it rested against Marcus’s leather briefcase. "That drive contains the unedited high-definition footage from our penthouse security system. Not just the final push, Marcus. It contains three months of prior board meetings, phone logs, and financial records proving Victoria embezzled corporate funds to finance her hostile takeover."
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Marcus’s confident smile faltered for a fraction of a second, his eyes darting toward the flash drive.
"The police have a copy," Julian continued, his voice dropping an octave. "The Securities and Exchange Commission has a copy. And as of ten minutes ago, every single institutional investor has been briefed. If you call for a vote of no confidence, Marcus, you won't just be defending a murderer. You’ll be going down with a sinking ship."
