Chapter 5 - The Corporate Execution
Two weeks later, the world Ethan had built lay in ashes.
I walked into the towering glass skyscraper that housed Vanguard Construction. I wasn't wearing the drab, oversized sweaters Ethan had forced me to wear to "hide my shape." I wore a sharp, tailored crimson power suit, my hair styled in a sleek blowout, a pair of Christian Louboutin heels clicking against the polished floor.
The entire office floor fell dead silent as I walked through the double doors. Everyone had heard the rumors. The CEO had been arrested, the accounts frozen, the company seized by a ghost investor.
I walked straight past the panicked receptionist and into the massive corner office that had belonged to Ethan. His nameplate was already sitting in the trash can.
My father's restructuring team was waiting for me.
"Ms. Sterling," the head of operations said, standing up respectfully. "We've audited the remaining executive team. Six of the senior VPs were complicit in Ethan's embezzlement schemes."
"Fire them," I said, sitting down in the leather chair that used to be his. "File civil suits against every single one of them to recoup the stolen funds. If they fight it, turn the evidence over to the district attorney. Liquidate Ethan’s company cars, cancel his corporate cards, and rebrand the company under Sterling Infrastructure by Monday."
As I signed the documents tearing down the last remnants of his legacy, my phone buzzed on the desk. It was an unknown number, originating from a cheap prepaid line. I put it on speaker.
"Emily?" a frail, shaking voice came through the line. It was Beverly.
"Make it quick," I said, reading over a quarterly report.
"Emily, please," Beverly sobbed. The haughty, country-club matriarch was entirely gone. "My credit cards are all declining. The bank foreclosed on my townhouse because Ethan hadn't paid the mortgage in six months. I'm... I'm staying at a Motel 6. None of my friends will return my calls. Please, I have nothing."
"You have exactly what you earned, Beverly," I replied coldly.
"I'm an old woman! You can't just leave me on the street! I didn't hit you! That was Ethan!"
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"But you smiled while he did it," I reminded her, the memory flashing behind my eyes. "You drank your tea and told him I needed discipline. You are a parasite, Beverly. You fed on me for three years. The host is dead. Figure out how to survive on your own."
I pressed 'End Call' before she could say another word. I felt a massive weight lift off my shoulders. I was finally exhaling the poison they had pumped into my lungs.
