Chapter 7 - The Boardroom Ambush
The elevator bell chimed on the forty-second floor. The double mahogany doors opened into the executive boardroom, where twelve people were seated around an enormous oval table beneath crystal chandeliers.
These weren't ordinary employees. They were the members of the board of directors and representatives from the multi-billion-dollar foreign conglomerate set to sign the buyout papers at six in the morning. When the doors opened and revealed four soaked, mud-splattered figures accompanied by a disheveled Victoria and a shivering Robert, the room went dead silent.
"Victoria?" an older board member with white hair stood up, frowning. "What is the meaning of this? Who are these people?"
"Nobody, Arthur," Victoria said swiftly, smoothing down her coat with trembling hands. "A domestic dispute. My security detail will handle it momentarily. Please continue reviewing the final acquisition terms."
"Don't sign a damn thing, Arthur," I called out, walking straight into the center of the boardroom.
The foreign delegates looked on in shock as I tossed a thick, waterlogged folder onto the center of the mahogany table. It landed with a heavy, wet slap right in front of the lead foreign buyer.
"I am Sarah Sterling, sister of Evelyn Sterling, the late majority shareholder of Vance Logistics," I announced, projecting my voice so every person in the room could hear. "And these are her twin sons, Mason and Noah. Tonight, at midnight, their trust matured. Under Article 14 of the corporate charter, no sale, transfer, or liquidation of Vance Logistics can take place without the unanimous consent of the primary bloodline heirs."
Victoria scoffed loudly, stepping toward the table. "They hold zero voting shares! Evelyn's shares were transferred to my holding company upon her passing!"
"Using a forged power of attorney signed four hours after she was declared clinically brain dead," Mason stated, stepping forward with his tablet held high.
With a quick swipe, Mason mirrored his screen to the sixty-inch monitors mounted on the boardroom walls. The medical records from Saint Jude's Memorial appeared, side-by-side with the digital timestamp of Victoria’s transfer authorization. The time of death: 3:14 AM. The time of the signature: 7:22 AM.
Murmurs erupted across the boardroom. The foreign delegates began whispering frantically to their legal counsel.
"This is an outrage!" Robert shouted, his face turning an alarming shade of purple. "These documents are fabricated! Arthur, call corporate security immediately!"
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"Arthur," Noah said softly, looking at the older board member. "You worked with our mother for twenty years. Look at me. Look at my brother. Do you really believe we're lying?"
Arthur stared at the boys, his eyes widening as memories of Evelyn Sterling clearly flashed before his eyes. He slowly lowered himself back into his leather chair, shaking his head. "Good God... you have Evelyn's eyes."
