Chapter 5 - The Corporate Purge
At 10:00 AM the following morning, the Sterling Global headquarters was in lockdown.
Victoria Sterling arrived in her private limousine, her face hidden behind oversized dark sunglasses as she tried to dodge the sea of reporters swarming the glass lobby. She marched up to the executive floor, her heels clicking furiously against the marble, ready to command the board to terminate my contract.
She threw open the double doors of the boardroom, her voice already raised in a screech. "I want him fired! I want Alexander removed from—"
She stopped dead in her tracks.
The boardroom was empty, save for three people. I sat at the head of the table, flanked by Marcus Vance and two federal investigators from the Internal Revenue Service.
"You're late for the board meeting, Victoria," I said smoothly, leaning back in my chair. "Mainly because there is no board meeting. The board voted unanimously at 7:00 AM to dissolve your position as Chairwoman Emeritus."
"You can't do that!" Victoria gasped, slamming her leather handbag onto the table. "I built this empire!"
"No, Father built it, and I scaled it," I replied, sliding a thick, leather-bound document across the table. "This is a federal seizure notice. Because you routed my personal funds through your charity foundation to hide the theft, the IRS has flagged your entire organization for tax evasion and money laundering. Your assets are frozen. Your townhouses, your cars, and your jewelry now belong to the state pending your trial."
Victoria staggered back, her hand flying to her throat as she realized the massive, untouchable fortress of wealth she had spent her life building had collapsed in less than twelve hours.
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"Alexander... I'm your mother," she whimpered, the arrogance completely gone, replaced by the pathetic terror of a criminal who had finally run out of exits. "You wouldn't send your own mother to prison."
"You watched my daughter search through a trash bag for bread rolls while you ate caviar, Victoria," I said, standing up and buttoning my suit jacket. "You're lucky I'm letting the police handle you instead of dealing with you myself."
