Chapter 9 - Blood and Blueprints
The heavy glass doors of the executive suite swung open with a sharp click. Arthur Vance, leading a coalition of senior board members trailed by two corporate media reporters with cameras rolling, marched into the room.
"Mr. Sterling, this emergency session is—" Arthur stopped mid-sentence as his eyes landed on Grace standing beside the CEO’s desk, her swollen belly unmistakable beneath her cotton dress. The cameras flashed instantly, blinding white light flooding the pristine office.
"Well, well," Arthur sneered, a triumphant smile spreading across his aged face. "It seems our visionary CEO has been spending corporate capital hiding his missing, working-class ex-wife in our luxury hospitality subsidiaries. I move for an immediate vote of no confidence on grounds of severe conflict of interest and misuse of corporate assets."
The board members murmured in agreement, ready to strike. The reporters raised their lenses, capturing every micro-expression of scandal.
Ethan didn't flinch. He didn't step back to shield himself, nor did he yell at the intruders. Instead, he slowly turned away from the board, reached down to the mahogany desk, picked up the velvet box containing Grace’s wedding ring, and slid it calmly into his trouser pocket. Then, he picked up a heavy, embossed corporate ledger—the original blueprint documents of Sterling Global’s founding assets.
"You can move for whatever vote you like, Arthur," Ethan said, his voice cutting through the murmurs with the cold, absolute authority of a man who held all the cards. He walked around the desk until he was standing directly in front of Grace, positioning his body protectively in front of hers while facing the cameras head-on.
"You think this is a corporate scandal?" Ethan’s voice echoed off the glass walls, steady and unyielding. "You think my personal life is an asset you can trade on the open market? Let me educate you on the bylaws you apparently forgot to read before storming my office."
He tossed the ledger onto the floor right at Arthur’s feet.
"Every single share you hold, every voting right this board possesses, is underwritten by the primary holding trust established during my father's tenure—a trust in which my personal family estate holds absolute veto power over any executive ouster." Ethan stepped closer to the trembling board members, his eyes dark and merciless. "Which means the moment you attempt a hostile vote of no confidence, I will exercise the nuclear dissolution clause, liquidate every subsidiary asset we own, and leave this entire corporation bankrupt by sundown."
The color drained entirely from Arthur Vance’s face. The reporters froze, their cameras lowering as the gravity of the billionaire’s threat registered in real-time. Sterling Global wasn't just a company; it was an empire built on a razor's edge, and Ethan was willing to blow it all to kingdom come.
"You wouldn't," Arthur stammered, his corporate bravado evaporating into thin air. "That would destroy billions in market value."
"Try me," Ethan whispered softly.
May you like
The silence in the penthouse was absolute. One by one, the board members lowered their gazes, turning away from the cameras and shuffling backward toward the elevator without uttering another word. Within sixty seconds, the executive suite was empty again, save for the hum of the climate control and the blinding Chicago sunlight streaming through the glass.
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