Chapter 11 - THE TWO HEIRS STEP INTO THE BOARDROOM—BUT A HIDDEN WILL CHOOSES ONLY ONE!
The golden doors of Vance Global Headquarters slammed open, casting long shadows across the obsidian floor of the executive boardroom. Forty-eight hours after the tragic collapse of the Sterling-Mercer wedding, the atmosphere inside the corporate tower was razor-sharp.
Eleanor Vance stood at the head of the mahogany conference table, flanked by her reunited twin daughters—Maya, wearing a sleek silver blazer, and Chloe, dressed in a simple dark tailored suit, her face subdued and eyes lowered in humble silence.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the board," Eleanor’s voice echoed with quiet authority. "Arthur Vance and Julian Mercer are currently in federal custody without bail. Today, we restructure the future of Vance Global Holdings."
Before Eleanor could introduce her daughters as joint successors, a cold, metallic voice rasped from the speaker system in the corner of the room.
"Not so fast, Madam Chairwoman."
An elderly man in a wheelchair was pushed into the room by two private guards. It was Master Attorney Harrison Vance—the company’s nonagenarian legal patriarch who had gone missing five years prior. In his trembling hands, he clutched an iron-bound vault ledger.
"By the founding charter established fifty years ago," Harrison declared, his eyes flashing with ancient malice, "a dual inheritance is strictly forbidden. The Vance Empire cannot be divided. The charter dictates that only one heir may inherit the chair—and if two blood-line daughters exist, they must compete in a seventy-two-hour trial of worthiness."
The boardroom erupted into chaos. Senior directors began whispering furiously.
Chloe stepped back, her voice shaking. "I don't want the empire, Mother. Give it to Maya. She suffered... I was the foolish one who lived in luxury while she was forced into poverty."
"It is not a choice, child," Attorney Harrison sneered, opening the iron ledger. "If one sister refuses the trial, the entire Vance fortune is automatically transferred into a neutral blind trust managed by the board of trustees. You either fight for the crown... or both of you lose everything."
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Maya looked at Chloe, then at her mother. A fierce spark ignited in her hazel eyes. "Then we take the trial. But we do it together."
"There is no 'together' in power, girl," Harrison warned, a sinister smile creeping across his wrinkled face. "Your first task begins in five minutes: retrieve the lost digital key stolen by Arthur Vance before his arrest. The sister who finds it holds fifty-one percent of the voting rights. The sister who fails... is banished from the Vance family forever."
