Chapter 7 - THE TRAP IS SETTwo weeks later, the board room at Sterling Industries looked like a war zone.
The elite executives sat in tense, agonizing silence around the mahogany conference table. On the main projection screen, flashing red warnings indicated a hostile takeover attempt in progress.
"Sir, they're shorting our stock on the open market," the Chief Technology Officer announced, his fingers flying across his keyboard. "An anonymous conglomerate calling itself Thorne Capital has accumulated over thirty-five percent of our voting shares in less than forty-eight hours. If we don't inject liquidity right now, they will trigger a forced merger and oust you as CEO."
The double doors of the boardroom swung open with a loud bang.
Striding down the center aisle was Julian Thorne himself. He wore an expensive charcoal suit, a smug, triumphant grin plastered across his face. Behind him walked two high-priced corporate attorneys carrying leather briefcases.
"Well, well, well," Julian mocked, stopping at the head of the table opposite Arthur. "Look at the mighty Arthur Sterling, humbled in his own domain. You spent three years crying over an empty grave, Arthur, while your wife and I were quietly positioning ourselves to inherit your entire empire."
Arthur didn't flinch. He remained seated, spinning a silver fountain pen between his fingers, looking remarkably relaxed for a man about to lose his company.
"You look confident, Julian," Arthur said smoothly. "Considering you just walked straight into a federal detention trap."
Julian laughed out loud, a sharp, arrogant sound. "Trap? Arthur, look at the screens! My financial backers own the controlling stake. By the end of this meeting, you'll be escorted out by federal marshals for corporate insolvency, and I will be sitting in your chair."
"You always were impatient, Julian," Arthur replied, leaning back in his leather chair. "You never bothered to check who actually funded Thorne Capital's latest acquisition."
Julian’s smile faltered slightly. "What are you talking about?"
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Arthur pressed a single button on his desk remote.
The projection screen flickered, switching from the stock market charts to a live security feed from a federal courtroom across town.
