Chapter 5
The board meeting lasted for over three hours, culminating in a unanimous vote to strip Marcus of all remaining shares and initiate formal criminal charges for corporate fraud and embezzlement. Thomas Vance chose to resign before a formal ethics investigation could be launched against him as well. By noon, Clara sat alone in her sprawling corner office overlooking Central Park, watching the autumn leaves drift down through the crisp New York air.
Arthur Pendelton stood by the doorway, holding a leather-bound folio. "The transition of power is complete, Clara. The SEC has been notified of the asset freeze, and our compliance officers have locked down every department Marcus touched."
"Good," Clara murmured, rubbing her temples to ward off a dull, throbbing headache that had lingered since the night before. "What about Victoria Sloane’s division? Did she manage to scrub the marketing databases before she left?"
"We caught her attempting a massive data exfiltration via an encrypted flash drive at three in the morning," Arthur replied, a faint smile touching his lips. "Security intercepted her in the lobby. She tried to claim it was personal work files, but our IT forensics team recovered proprietary client lists intended for a competing firm run by Richard Vance—Marcus’s estranged cousin."
Clara’s eyes narrowed. Richard Vance. The puzzle pieces were finally clicking into place. Richard had been circling Sterling Global for years, attempting hostile buyouts that her father had successfully beaten back time and again. Marcus hadn't acted alone out of mere greed; he had been a Trojan horse planted inside the family through marriage, orchestrated by Richard to dismantle the company from the inside.
"So Richard was pulling the strings all along," Clara said, her voice dangerously quiet.
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"It appears so," Arthur confirmed, handing her the folio. "These are documents recovered from Victoria’s workstation. They outline a plan to devalue Sterling’s stock over the next quarter, forcing a fire sale where Richard’s conglomerate would buy up controlling interest for pennies on the dollar."
Clara opened the folio, scanning the chilling details of the plot that was meant to destroy everything her father had built. Every instinct told her to strike back immediately, to use the full weight of the corporate machine to crush Richard Vance. But she paused, taking a slow, calming breath. Anger had given her the strength to lock Marcus out, but strategy and patience were what she needed now to dismantle the entire conspiracy root and branch.
