Chapter 8 - The Fall of the Empire
By noon that Thursday, the financial news networks were in absolute chaos.
Gwyneth Hall, senior anchor for CNBC, stood in front of the Federal Courthouse in Manhattan, speaking urgently into her microphone:
"In what is being called the most shocking corporate collapse in modern Wall Street history, hedge fund giant Arthur Sterling has been formally indicted on fourteen federal felony counts. Shares of Sterling Global have crashed by ninety-four percent following news of a massive federal raid linked to illegal corporate espionage and blackmail operations."
The screen shifted to a live shot of Arthur Sterling, dressed in a grey jumpsuit, being led into a federal holding facility, his head lowered in utter disgrace.
"Meanwhile," the anchor continued, "Crowe Enterprises held an emergency shareholders meeting this morning. Founder and CEO Nathaniel Crowe announced a complete restructuring of the company, confirming that all intellectual property remains fully secure and that the firm will be launching a fifty-million-dollar philanthropic foundation dedicated to supporting child trauma survivors."
Inside my private office on the top floor of the Crowe Tower in Manhattan, I turned off the television screen with a small remote.
Marcus sat across from me, sipping coffee. "The markets stabilized. Your stock actually opened twelve percent higher than before the Tokyo trip. Wall Street loves a comeback story."
"I don't care about the stock, Marcus," I said, signing the final document on my desk—a deed placing my entire personal estate into an irrevocable trust owned exclusively by Clara and Leo. "I'm stepping down as CEO."
Marcus paused, setting his cup down. "You're resigning?"
"I'm appointing Sarah Jenkins as interim CEO," I explained, leaning back in my chair and looking at the framed photograph on my desk—a photo of Clara and Leo taken three years ago at the beach. "I spent two years hiding behind work because I couldn't face the grief of losing Evelyn. I thought building an empire was protecting my children. But all it did was leave them exposed to monsters."
"What are you going to do?" Marcus asked softly.
May you like
"I'm going to be their father," I answered. "Full-time. No trips to Tokyo, no midnight board meetings. Just them."
Marcus stared at me for a long moment, then smiled broadly, standing up and extending his hand. "It's about damn time, Nathaniel. It's about damn time."
