Chapter 8 - The Collapse of Sterling
Victor looked around the room, but the allies who had pledged their support to him only an hour earlier were suddenly staring down at their hands, avoiding his eyes.
“Victor,” Marcus Holloway, a retired state treasurer and longtime board member, spoke up, his voice trembling with disgust. “Is this your signature on the Cayman escrow authorization?”
“It’s a frame-up!” Victor hissed, slamming his fists onto the table. “Ethan Vance is a convicted felon trying to save his own skin! Clara engineered this to eliminate her opposition before our public offering!”
“The U.S. Marshals downstairs don't think it's a frame-up, Victor,” Lucas said smoothly, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “In fact, they’re waiting in the private reception lobby with an arrest warrant issued by Judge Miller twenty minutes ago.”
Victor froze. The arrogance that had sustained him for half a century evaporated in an instant, revealing the hollow, desperate shell of a desperate man.
“You ungrateful little brat,” Victor snarled, dropping all pretense of gentility as he glared at me. “Your father was nothing before I gave him his first seed check! You think you can run Meridian Pay without Wall Street backing? Keller will tear this company apart! Apex Horizon already owns the clearing rights to your European gateway!”
“They owned the rights,” I corrected calmly. “Until four o'clock this morning, when Lucas executed a margin call on Apex’s secondary debt through our Swiss affiliate. Apex Horizon is currently in technical default, Victor. Jonathan Keller won’t even answer your phone calls. You are broke, disgraced, and completely alone.”
The heavy double doors of the boardroom swung open. Four federal agents in dark suits entered, flanked by building security.
“Victor Sterling?” the lead agent said, holding up a badge. “You are under arrest for securities fraud, grand larceny, and corporate espionage. Step away from the table.”
The board watched in stunned silence as the great patriarch of Silicon Valley venture capital was handcuffed, his bespoke suit wrinkled as he was dragged out into the corridor.
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I took a slow breath, smoothed my jacket, and sat back down at the head of the table.
“Now,” I said, looking around at the remaining, terrified board members. “Shall we discuss the quarterly earnings report?”
