Chapter 7 - THE RECKONING AT THE BOARDROOMThree days later, the glass-and-steel skyscraper of Vale Tower felt like a tomb.

Sebastian sat at the head of the massive boardroom table on the 50th floor. The mahogany table, polished to a mirror shine, reflected the gray clouds hanging over Manhattan. Around the table sat twelve board members—men and women who had controlled the city's real estate for decades, whispering among themselves in hushed, nervous tones.

At the far end sat Arthur Vale, his face carved from granite, looking like a king who had just discovered a rebellion in his own ranks.

“You’ve called an emergency session, Mr. Vale,” the chief legal counsel, a slick man named Harrison, adjusted his tie nervously. “According to corporate bylaws, an extraordinary meeting requires a supermajority vote to override the CEO's operational authority. What is the agenda?”

Sebastian didn't open his leather folder. He placed both hands flat on the polished mahogany, his gray eyes sweeping across the board members one by one.

“The agenda,” Sebastian said, his voice echoing in the dead silence of the room, “is the immediate termination of Arthur Vale as Chairman Emeritus, and the permanent revocation of Daniel Mercer’s pension and security clearance.”

An audible gasp erupted around the table.

“Have you lost your mind?!” Harrison sputtered, slamming his palm on the table. “Arthur Vale built this company! You cannot simply oust the founder!”

“Watch me,” Sebastian said calmly, sliding a thick stack of documents across the table toward Harrison. “That file contains wire transfer records, audio transcripts, and internal memos proving that Arthur Vale and Daniel Mercer conspired to commit mail fraud, extortion, and illegal wiretapping four years ago to falsify a domestic divorce proceeding and suppress legal notification of my heirs.”

Arthur didn't flinch. He slowly leaned forward, resting his withered hands on his cane, a cold, mocking smile touching the corners of his mouth.

“And who do you think the federal prosecutor is going to believe, Sebastian?” Arthur’s voice was smooth, venomous, and dripping with absolute confidence. “A billionaire CEO waging a bitter family custody dispute, or the founding patriarch of the most powerful corporate dynasty in New York? The moment you file those papers, the press will tear you apart, our stock will drop thirty percent by closing bell, and the board will vote you out for mental incompetence before lunch.”

The board members exchanged nervous glances. Several of them nodded in agreement with Arthur’s logic. They were businessmen; they cared about profit, not family drama.

Sebastian looked at his grandfather. A slow, terrifying smile spread across his face—the exact same smile that had terrified corporate raiders twice his age for a decade.

“You’re right, Grandfather,” Sebastian said softly. “If I file those papers through normal channels, the press will have a field day.”

Sebastian reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small, sleek flash drive, placing it gently in the center of the mahogany table.

“That’s why I didn't send it to the prosecutor,” Sebastian continued, his voice steady as a rock. “Thirty minutes ago, an encrypted copy of that exact file was automatically transmitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Times, and the personal legal counsel of every major institutional investor holding more than five percent of our common stock.”

Color drained completely from Arthur’s face. For the first time in forty years, the old man’s hands began to shake against his cane.

“You... you wouldn't,” Arthur whispered, his voice cracking. “You’d destroy the family name. You’d destroy the very empire I built for you.”

“You didn't build it for me,” Sebastian stood up, towering over the boardroom table, his shoulders squared, his gaze burning with absolute finality. “You built it for yourself. And now, it’s mine to burn down or rebuild the right way.”

Sebastian turned his back on the board, walking toward the grand glass doors of the boardroom without looking back once.

“Meeting adjourned,” he said over his shoulder.

As the heavy glass doors closed behind him, Sebastian pulled out his phone. He dialed a number he had memorized by heart.

“Maya,” he said the moment the line picked up.

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“I’m coming home,” Sebastian said, a genuine smile breaking across his face for the first time in four years. “Pack a bag. All of you. We’re leaving the city.”