Chapter 10 - The Family Betrayal
The admission hung in the opulent master study, heavy and absolute. Thomas didn't bother denying it anymore; instead, a slow, mocking smile crept across his features. He walked casually toward the wet bar set into the corner of the room, pouring himself two fingers of neat bourbon without asking permission.
"Sold you out is such a dramatic way to phrase it, Clara," Thomas said, swirling the dark amber liquid in the crystal glass. "I simply recognized that the Vance-Marconi empire had stagnated under Uncle Richard's old-school leadership. Kross offered a visionary restructuring plan. A merger that would double our global market share within eighteen months."
"By stealing my research and handing our proprietary medical patents to our worst corporate enemy?" Clara’s voice rose, sharp and furious, though she maintained her ground near the desk. "People's lives depend on those clinical trials, Thomas! Those immunotherapy treatments are the only hope stage-four cancer patients have!"
"Science is a business, Clara, not a charity," Thomas replied coldly, taking a sip of the bourbon. "And under my leadership as the newly appointed CEO—a position Viktor guaranteed me upon completion of the merger—we will monetize those treatments efficiently."
Richard raised his pistol, leveling the barrel squarely at his nephew's chest. His hand didn't shake. "You won't be leading anything, Thomas. You’re going down for treason, corporate espionage, and federal wire fraud. Hands behind your back. Now."
Thomas chuckled softly, setting his glass down on the marble countertop with a sharp clink. He didn't look remotely intimidated by the firearm pointed at him. He simply reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out his smartphone, and tapped the screen once.
"You really should check your estate’s perimeter security feeds, Uncle Richard," Thomas said smoothly. "Or better yet, check your personal communication devices."
Before Richard could pull the trigger or order him to stop, the synchronized chime of multiple mobile devices echoed through the room. Richard’s phone, resting in his suit pocket, vibrated insistently. Clara instinctively checked her own phone on the desk.
A mass notification alert had just been broadcast across the entire Vance-Marconi corporate network, as well as every major financial news outlet in the country.
BREAKING NEWS: VANCE-MARCONI BIOMEDICAL FACES IMMINENT BANKRUPTCY FOLLOWING FRAUD ALLEGATIONS. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RICHARD VANCE HOSPITALIZED AFTER MEDICAL EMERGENCY.
Richard stared at his glowing screen in sheer disbelief, his face draining of color. "What is this? I'm standing right here. I'm not hospitalized."
"You will be in about two minutes, Uncle," Thomas said with a chillingly pleasant smile. "Or rather, your medical records will show that you suffered a massive, stress-induced cardiac arrest following the revelation of your son-in-law's criminal enterprise. The board has already convened an emergency virtual session, and by a unanimous proxy vote controlled entirely by my offshore holdings, I have been installed as interim CEO."
Clara lunged forward, her protective instincts overriding her caution. "You hacked the board registry!"
"I didn't hack it, Clara. I legally acquired the proxy shares from Julian while he was signing his asset forfeiture forms downstairs," Thomas explained, stepping toward the double doors of the study. "He thought he was signing a divorce settlement. Instead, he signed away his voting rights in the holding company."
"You won't get away with this," Richard snarled, stepping forward to block Thomas's path to the door. "The FBI is still downstairs interviewing the estate manager. All I have to do is yell down the stairwell, and federal agents will be standing in this room in ten seconds."
Thomas stopped, turning to face his uncle with a look of supreme, unsettling confidence. He pointed toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the driveway.
May you like
"Go ahead, Uncle Richard," Thomas invited softly. "Yell as loud as you like. But by the time they reach this floor, you won't be talking to federal agents. You'll be talking to the paramedics I just dispatched for your sudden, fatal heart attack."
---
