Chapter 3 - The Snake in the Boardroom
The revelation of Victor Sterling’s involvement changed the game entirely. Victor had been like an uncle to Marcus after his father passed away. He was the one who had encouraged Marcus to pursue Evelyn, calling her "a fine woman from a respectable family who would ground him."
"It was a trap from day one," Marcus muttered to himself as he walked into the glass-walled boardroom of Kingston Enterprises the following Monday.
The atmosphere in the executive suite was tense. The board members were gathered for an emergency meeting to discuss the fallout of the wedding scandal and the plummeting stock prices. At the head of the table sat Victor Sterling, a silver-haired man in his late fifties, looking immaculate and perfectly composed.
"Marcus, my boy," Victor said, standing up with an expression of deep sympathy. "We are all so incredibly sorry for what you’ve been through. It’s a tragedy. But we must think of the company. The press is having a field day. We need to issue a statement distancing you from the Vance family entirely."
Marcus sat down at the opposite end of the table, his demeanor cold and unreadable. "Thank you, Victor. Your concern is touching. But I think we have bigger problems than a press release."
Victor raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what might that be?"
"Internal security," Marcus said, tossing a tablet onto the center of the table. "I’ve had an independent forensic audit conducted over the weekend. It seems someone within this very room has been leaking our proprietary AI logistics software designs to Vance Logistics over the past eighteen months."
The room went dead silent. The board members looked at each other in panic.
Victor didn't flinch. He let out a soft sigh. "Marcus, you’re emotional. You’ve just found out your fiancée is a criminal. It’s natural to lash out and see enemies everywhere. But let’s leave the wild accusations out of the boardroom."
"It’s not an accusation, Victor. It’s a fact," Marcus countered. He tapped a command on his phone, and the large projector screen on the wall lit up. It displayed a series of encrypted emails between an anonymous Kingston executive and Beatrice Vance.
"The encryption was sophisticated, but not unbreakable," Marcus continued, his eyes locked onto Victor. "The digital signature traces back to a terminal right here in this building. A terminal registered to your personal office, Victor."
One of the older board members stood up. "Victor, is this true? Have you been selling out the company?"
"This is a fabrication!" Victor snapped, his composure finally slipping. "Marcus is trying to deflect from his own poor judgment! He brought a criminal into our inner circle! He is unfit to lead this company!"
"Actually," Julian Vance’s voice echoed as he entered the boardroom, flanked by two corporate compliance lawyers. "Marcus is perfectly fit. You, however, are through."
Julian walked to the table and laid down a stack of certified documents. "These are the liquidation records of Vance Logistics. As of this morning, Kingston Enterprises has acquired 100% of Vance Logistics' debt. We own them. And as part of the discovery process in the bankruptcy court, we obtained the unredacted offshore accounts. Victor, you didn't just leak software. You bankrolled Beatrice’s illegal operations. You used her debt to force her to use Evelyn to assassinate Marcus, so you could stage a hostile takeover."
Victor’s face turned a sickly shade of grey. He looked around the room, searching for an ally, but every board member averted their eyes. He was completely cornered.
"You think you've won?" Victor hissed, leaning over the table toward Marcus. "You’re a boy playing a man’s game. Evelyn might be behind bars, but she hasn't talked yet. And as long as she stays quiet, you have nothing that will hold up in a criminal court against me. This is corporate warfare, Marcus. You don't have the stomach for it."
"Maybe I don't," Marcus said calmly. "But the District Attorney does. They’ve been listening to this entire meeting via a federal wiretap authorized an hour ago."
The doors opened, and this time, it was uniform police officers who entered.
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"Victor Sterling, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, corporate fraud, and insider trading," the leading officer announced.
As Victor was led away in handcuffs, screaming profanities at Marcus, the board members slowly stood up, one by one, clapping. Marcus had not only saved his own life, but he had also purged the cancer from the heart of his father's company. But as he looked at Julian, he knew the battle wasn't over. Evelyn was still a wildcard, and a cornered animal is always the most dangerous.
