Chapter 7 - THE RECKONING
On Thursday morning, thirty-six hours after giving birth, I sat upright in my hospital bed.
I was wearing a sharp, tailored black silk blouse over my bandages, my hair neatly combed, and light makeup covering the dark circles under my eyes. Mounted on a mobile stand in front of my bed was a high-definition webcam and a wide display monitor showing the Vance Enterprise boardroom.
At the center of the boardroom table sat Richard Sterling, surrounding himself with the remaining seven board members. They looked uncomfortable, sitting in front of a giant video wall that displayed my face larger than life.
“Eleanor,” Sterling spoke into the microphone, his tone condescendingly gentle. “We are glad to hear you and the child are safe. But surely you realize that running a multi-billion-dollar enterprise from a hospital bed while recovering from major surgery is absurd. The board needs stable, experienced leadership right now. The market is panicking.”
“The market isn't panicking because of me, Mr. Sterling,” I said, my voice echoing clearly through the speakers in Manhattan. “The market is panicking because the media knows your firm is under federal investigation for bribery.”
Sterling clicked his tongue impatiently. “That investigation will yield nothing. As I explained to the press, Caleb Vance acted alone. Now, let’s get to business. The board is moving to exercise Bylaw 12—appointing an interim executive chairman to stabilize our credit lines. I have nominated myself.”
“I object,” I said calmly.
“You don't have the voting leverage to object, Eleanor,” Sterling replied with a thin, smug smile. “Without the five indicted members, we have seven active board seats here today. Five of them support my nomination. That’s a clear majority of present members.”
“You’re counting active seats incorrectly, Mr. Sterling,” I said.
I signaled to Mr. Harlan, who was standing just off-camera in the hospital room. He tapped a command into his laptop screen.
On the boardroom display in Manhattan, a legal document popped up, overriding Sterling’s presentation.
“What is this?” Sterling demanded, squinting at the screen.
“That is the deed of purchase for Sterling Global’s primary debt holding company, Apex Capital,” I explained smoothly. “You see, Mr. Sterling, while you were busy trying to buy off my board members over the last three months, my father spent sixty million dollars quietly buying up eighty percent of Sterling Global’s toxic real estate debt through offshore subsidiaries.”
Sterling froze. His face went grey. “That’s... that’s impossible. Apex Capital is an independent fund!”
“It was an independent fund,” I corrected him. “Until I signed the acquisition paperwork thirty minutes ago from this bed. Which means Vance Enterprise now owns forty percent of Sterling Global’s parent company.”
The board members around Sterling gasped. Two of them immediately pushed their chairs back, looking at Sterling as if he were a sinking ship.
“Under section 4 of the cross-default clause,” I continued, leaning forward into the camera, “I am declaring Sterling Global in default of its loan obligations effective immediately. As primary creditor, I am seizing Sterling Global’s voting shares in Vance Enterprise.”
Sterling stood up, his fists slammed onto the table, his face flushed with purple rage. “You can’t do this! You’re bluffing! You don't have the legal authority!”
“I have total legal authority, Mr. Sterling,” I said cold as ice. “And as the owner of your debt, my first action as controlling shareholder is to remove you from the board of Vance Enterprise. Security!”
The boardroom doors in Manhattan swung open. Marcus stepped inside, accompanied by two uniformed NYPD officers and an investigator from the District Attorney’s office.
“Richard Sterling?” the investigator asked, stepping up to the table and pulling out a folded document. “You are under arrest for corporate conspiracy, wire fraud, and illegal attempt to influence a public institution.”
Sterling backed away from the table, looking frantically at the board members he had bribed. Not one of them looked at him. They all stared down at the table, completely abandoning him.
“This isn't over, Eleanor!” Sterling yelled as the officers snapped handcuffs around his wrists. “You can’t run this empire alone! You’ll drown!”
“I’m not alone, Mr. Sterling,” I said, looking over at the small bassinet beside my bed where Victoria slept peacefully. “I have everything I need.”
As Sterling was led out of the boardroom in handcuffs, I looked at the remaining board members through the camera. They sat frozen, terrified, waiting for my judgment.
“Members of the board,” I said, my voice cutting through the silence. “You have ten minutes to tender your written resignations to Mr. Harlan. If you resign now, Vance Enterprise will not pursue civil damages for breach of fiduciary duty. If you do not...”
I didn't need to finish the sentence.
Within five minutes, seven resignation letters were uploaded to the corporate server.
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The board was cleared. Sterling was ruined. Caleb was in jail.
The war was over.
