Chapter 7 - The Corporate Warzone
The monolithic glass headquarters of Sterling-Vane Industries towered over downtown Boston like a monument to cold, unyielding power.
By 9:45 AM, a sleek black Maybach pulled up to the subterranean executive loading dock. The tinted windows rolled down, revealing Daniel Kane sitting upright in the back seat, wearing a custom charcoal bespoke suit that hid his bandages entirely.
Beside him sat me—scrubbed clean, wearing a sharp, tailored black blazer Julian Vance had managed to procure from an emergency boutique delivery, my hair pulled back into a sleek, professional bun.
"Remember," Daniel murmured, leaning toward me as the car rolled to a halt. "You're not Anna Bennett from Ali’s Diner today. You're my chief corporate liaison and legal observer. Stay close, don't speak unless spoken to, and if anyone tries to touch the twins—who are securely with our private security detail upstairs—you scream for me."
I nodded, my palms sweating against my knees. "Got it."
We rode the private executive elevator straight to the forty-eighth floor—the sacred boardroom where the fate of the multi-billion-dollar empire was decided.
When the heavy mahogany doors swung open, the murmurs of the twenty board members seated around the massive marble table instantly died away.
Marcus Sterling—standing at the head of the table, flanked by three corporate attorneys—froze mid-sentence. The color drained entirely from his face, leaving him looking like a corpse that had just seen a ghost.
"D-Daniel?" Marcus stammered, gripping the edge of the marble table so hard his knuckles turned white. "You... you're dead. The harbor—the police report—"
"A gross exaggeration, Marcus," Daniel said smoothly, his voice carrying the chilling weight of absolute authority as he strode into the room.
He didn't limp. He didn't flinch. He walked with the terrifying, predatory grace of a lion reclaiming his pride.
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I followed right behind him, keeping my head high, my eyes locked on the stunned faces of the board members.
"I believe," Daniel continued, pulling out the grand leather chair at the head of the table and sitting down with a deliberate, echoing thud, "we have urgent business regarding the restructuring of our corporate assets. And a few traitors to fire."
