Chapter 5 - THE POISON PILL
The gala was in full swing, but the atmosphere had irrevocably shifted.
Everywhere I looked, people were whispering behind their hands, casting covert glances at our table. Dominic and Vanessa had retreated to a private alcove near the bar, deep in a furious, hushed argument.
I opened the leather dossier Mercer had given me.
"If Dominic doesn't own the land, how can he sell the company?" I asked, scanning the complex financial spreadsheets.
"Because the public doesn't know yet," Mercer explained quietly, sipping his champagne. "The injunction is sealed until Monday. Dominic is arrogant, but he's not stupid. He knows he can't win a prolonged legal battle against me and the truth. His only play is to find a buyer tonight, sign the preliminary acquisition papers, take the cash, and let the new buyer deal with the radioactive fallout on Monday."
"Who would buy it on such short notice?"
"There's only one firm here with the liquidity and the reckless ambition to do it," Mercer nodded toward the far side of the room. "The Sterling Group. Led by Marcus Sterling."
I looked over and saw a tall, broad-shouldered man in his forties, laughing boisterously with a group of investors. I knew Marcus. Dominic despised him. They were bitter rivals.
"Dominic would rather die than sell to Marcus," I said.
"Pride is a luxury Dominic can no longer afford," Mercer replied. "Watch."
Sure enough, Dominic detached himself from Vanessa and began weaving through the crowd toward Marcus Sterling. His posture was rigid, his smile plastered on—the fake, charming smile he used when he was about to lie through his teeth.
"So we just let him do it?" I asked, a knot tightening in my stomach. "We let him steal the money and run?"
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"Evelyn," Mercer said softly. "Look at page 47 of the dossier."
I flipped through the heavy pages. It was a copy of the Sterling Group's standard acquisition contract. I skimmed the dense legalese until my eyes landed on a highlighted section.
