Chapter 4 - The Corporate Raid
Two days later, I stood in the lobby of Vance Capital's corporate headquarters in downtown Phoenix.
I was no longer wearing my scrub uniform or casual clothes. I wore a sharp black blazer, my hair pulled back tightly, carrying a leather briefcase. Beside me walked Marcus Vance—Ryan’s estranged older brother.
Marcus had left the family ten years ago after refusing to participate in Brenda’s corporate fraud schemes. He had spent a decade building his own independent private equity firm in California. When news of Ryan and Brenda’s arrest hit the papers, Marcus had boarded a private jet to Phoenix and called me directly.
"Are you ready for this, Maya?" Marcus asked quietly as we rode the private elevator up to the 40th floor.
"They tried to steal my children, Marcus," I replied without hesitation. "I am ready for anything."
The elevator doors opened to the executive suite. Panic was already underway. Staff members were rushing around with boxes, shredding documents, and shouting over phones. Without Ryan or Brenda at the helm, the company was in freefall.
Marcus stepped out, his tall frame instantly commanding the room. "Attention everyone! Stop what you are doing immediately!"
The entire floor went silent.
Arthur Sterling—Brenda’s attorney—stepped out of the corner office, looking stunned to see us. "Marcus? What are you doing here? You have no standing in Vance Capital!"
"I have twenty-two percent of the founding stock, Arthur," Marcus said, pulling a legal injunction from his folder. "And as of nine o'clock this morning, the state Superior Court granted Maya Vance temporary emergency guardianship over Ryan Vance’s thirty-five percent voting shares, due to his criminal incarceration for felony child endangerment and attempted murder."
Sterling’s face turned bright red. "You can't exercise voting rights on incarcerated shares without a board meeting!"
"We are holding a board meeting," I stepped forward, setting my briefcase onto the main reception desk. "Marcus and I control fifty-seven percent of the voting power. And as majority shareholders, our first motion is the immediate termination of Brenda Vance and Ryan Vance from all corporate positions."
"You can't do this!" Sterling shouted. "The trust—"
"The trust is subject to federal clawback provisions," Marcus interrupted coldly. "An hour ago, the Department of Justice filed a freeze order on all Vance Capital offshore accounts tied to Brenda's trust fund. The money you were planning to use for her bail and your legal fees? Frozen."
Just then, six agents from the Internal Revenue Service and two federal marshals pushed past the elevator doors.
"Arthur Sterling?" the lead federal agent called out. "We have a search warrant for all physical and digital records related to Vance Capital Shell Account 409."
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Sterling dropped his briefcase. His hands began to shake.
I walked up to Sterling, leaning in close so only he could hear me. "Tell Brenda that her courtroom reach just got severed. She doesn't own this city anymore."
