Chapter 10 - The Diner Meetup
The neon sign of the downtown diner hummed a lonely, flickering amber against the rainy night sky as Arthur pulled his sedan into an empty slot near the back. The parking lot was nearly deserted, save for a battered silver sedan parked under the farthest streetlight. Arthur stepped out into the mist, pulling his dark suit jacket tight against the chill, and walked quickly toward the glass doors of the diner. Inside, the smell of stale coffee and fried grease hung thick in the air. A lone waitress wiped down the counter near the back, while in a corner booth sat Sarah Chen, her laptop open and casting a cool blue glow across her sharp, focused features.
Arthur slid into the vinyl booth across from her, setting the manila folder down on the worn laminate table.
Sarah looked up from her screen, her dark eyes assessing him with clinical precision. "You look like a man who has nothing left to lose, Mr. Sterling."
"I don't," Arthur replied bluntly, opening the folder and sliding the forged bank slips across the table. "Victor Ross has my wife. He forced me out of my own accounts, and he’s using my digital signature to execute a complete corporate takeover by Thursday midnight."
Sarah pulled the documents toward her, flipping through the pages while her fingers danced across her laptop keyboard. A series of fast-paced clicks filled the small space between them as she cross-referenced the account numbers with public property registries and offshore routing codes.
"These signatures are good," Sarah muttered, her eyes narrowing as data scrolled past her screen. "Too good. They were executed using a biometric keylogger attached to your office workstation. Someone had physical access to your desk for months."
"Victor," Arthur said grimly. "He shared my office suite before we expanded."
"Not just Victor," Sarah corrected, spinning her laptop around to show him a complex web of corporate ownership. "Look at this shell company holding the primary debt—Sterling & Ross Holdings. It was incorporated three days after your company went public. Your partner wasn't alone in this. He had a silent partner with major political leverage."
May you like
Before Arthur could examine the corporate structure on the screen, the bell above the diner door jingled softly. Two men in dark coats walked in, casting a single, cold glance toward their booth before taking seats near the exit.
---
