Chapter 10 - The Midnight Boardroom
The sleek glass monolith of the Vance-Sterling corporate tower pierced the rainy midnight sky like a jagged shard of obsidian.
Julian stepped out of a black sedan directly onto the wet marble plaza, his tuxedo jacket replaced by a heavy wool overcoat, his eyes fixed on the revolving entrance doors.
“Hold up, boss. Security inside has been doubled since the wedding incident,” Marcus warned, stepping out of the driver’s seat with a small encrypted tablet in hand.
“Let them try to stop us,” Julian said, walking briskly toward the lobby where two armed guards immediately moved to block his path.
“Mr. Vance is in an executive meeting. You’re not authorized to enter the building, Mr. Vance,” the lead guard stated, resting a hand on his holster.
Julian didn’t break stride; he simply pulled out the silver flash drive and held it up where the security cameras could record the high-resolution data label.
“Tell Arthur that Olivia’s daughter delivered the missing encryption keys, and unless he wants the SEC feeds broadcast live to every news outlet in the country, he’ll let us up,” Julian said coldly.
The guard hesitated, speaking into his sleeve radio for a tense five seconds before the heavy brass elevators pinged open behind them with a welcoming chime.
As Julian and Marcus stepped into the elevator, the digital display climbed rapidly past the fiftieth floor toward the executive penthouse boardroom.
“Remember, the whole board is in there. If we don’t present the original trust documents before the clock strikes one, they legally dissolve the family holdings,” Marcus reminded him.
“I know the stakes, Marcus. Let’s finish this,” Julian replied as the elevator doors slid open to reveal the opulent mahogany-paneled hallway of the executive suite.
They walked through the double doors into the grand boardroom, where a dozen terrified board members sat around a massive glass table under the gaze of Arthur Vance.
Arthur sat at the head of the table, his silver hair immaculate, swirling a glass of expensive scotch as he looked up with a mask of icy amusement.
“Well, Julian. I expected better survival instincts from you. Coming here alone is corporate suicide,” Arthur mocked, gesturing to the silent guards lining the walls.
“I didn’t come alone, Arthur. I brought the truth,” Julian said loudly, striding down the center of the room and slamming the heavy manila envelope onto the glass table.
Victoria stood up from her seat near her father, her face drained of all color as she stared at Julian with a mixture of hatred and absolute panic.
“Don’t listen to him, he’s unstable! He kidnapped me from the cathedral and threatened my life!” Victoria shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at Julian.
Julian ignored her performance entirely, plugging the silver flash drive directly into the boardroom’s main media console and projecting a digital file onto the massive screen.
The screen flickered to life, displaying a high-definition video recording dated ten years ago, showing Arthur Vance and Victoria signing forged transfer documents.
The board members gasped in unison, turning their shocked gazes from the screen to Arthur Vance, whose composure finally began to crack at the edges.
“This is a deepfake fabricated by a disgruntled former employee,” Arthur barked, slamming his glass onto the table as amber liquid splashed across the glass.
“Is it?” a quiet, raspy voice echoed from the double doors at the back of the boardroom, cutting through the shouting like a razor.
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All heads whipped around toward the entrance as Olivia, supported by Lucy and an armed federal marshal, stepped slowly into the bright lights of the executive suite.
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