Chapter 6 - The Public Execution
"This is a forgery! This is a smear campaign by a hysterical woman!" Daniel shrieked, slamming his fist onto the table, his face contorted in wild, unhinged panic. "Board members, ignore the screen! Execute the vote!"
"Shut up, Daniel," Ethan said calmly, tapping a key on his laptop.
An audio track began playing through the boardroom's surround-sound speakers.
It was a recording from twenty-four hours ago—a wiretapped call between Daniel and Julianne Sterling.
“Don't worry, Julianne,” Daniel's recorded voice boomed clearly across the silent room. “Evelyn has no idea. She thinks I'm just a cheating husband. Once the board approves the transfer tomorrow, Victor gets the algorithms, we bankrupt the firm, and Evelyn won't have enough money left to pay her electricity bill.”
“And what about the kid?” Julianne’s voice answered over the speaker. “Claire’s boy?”
“I’ll throw Claire to the wolves. Let her take the blame for the Aegis transfers. She’s an idiot.”
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Several senior board members stood up, their faces red with outrage, pointing their fingers at Daniel. "You treacherous bastard!" one screamed. "You lied to us for a decade!"
Julianne Sterling grabbed her handbag, turning quickly to head toward the side exit, but two federal agents stepped into her path, blocking her completely.
"Julianne Sterling," Agent Jenkins said, stepping forward with open handcuffs. "You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, corporate espionage, and international money laundering."
Julianne turned her venomous gaze on Daniel. "You fool! You ruined everything!" she hissed as the steel cuffs clicked around her wrists.
Daniel backed away toward the floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the city, looking around the room like a trapped animal. He saw the journalists snapping photos relentlessly, the flashbulbs illuminating his complete and total destruction. He saw the board members turning their backs on him in disgust.
And then he looked at me.
I walked up to him, stopping just two feet away.
"You called me a 'cheap, gullible heiress' to your friends six years ago, Daniel," I said softly, my voice filled with pure, lethal satisfaction. "You thought you spent twelve years playing me."
I reached out and gently removed the corporate gold lapel pin from his suit jacket—the pin my father had given him on the day he joined the company.
"Clause 44-B of the founding charter," I whispered into his ear. "My father knew men like you existed. He built this firm to survive snakes. Your shares are void. Your accounts are seized. Your life as you know it is over."
"Evelyn... please," Daniel whimpered, tears of pure terror finally overflowing his eyes. He dropped to his knees right there on the carpet, reaching out to grab the hem of my suit pants. "I loved you! In the beginning, I really loved you! Please don't let them take me!"
I stepped back, pulling my leg away from his grasp as if he were a pile of dirt.
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"Agent Jenkins," I said without looking down at him. "Take him away."
Four federal officers descended on Daniel Carter, hauling him to his feet as he screamed, wept, and begged for mercy, his voice echoing down the hallway as he was dragged away in chains before the eyes of the entire world.
