Chapter 6 - THE BOARDROOM CONFRONTATIONAt 9:00 AM sharp, the grand boardroom on the 45th floor was packed.
At the head of the long oak table sat Richard Sterling, flanked by Mary Vance, who was dressed in a pristine black designer suit, looking entirely unbothered by her son’s arrest the night before.
Across the table were seven international board members, staring at their tablets as Sterling tapped his gavel.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Sterling announced smoothly, his voice carrying an air of solemn authority. “Due to tragic circumstances last night, our beloved CEO, Clara Vance, suffered a severe mental breakdown and attempted an assault on her husband, Beckett. She is currently undergoing psychiatric evaluation under police custody.”
A murmur went through the room.
“Therefore,” Sterling continued, pressing a button to bring up a legal slide on the massive 100-inch display at the front of the room, “under Section 4 of the corporate charter, full executive control and voting rights revert to her legal proxy—her husband, Beckett Vance, represented today by his mother, Mary Vance, and myself.”
Mary bowed her head, dabbing a non-existent tear from her eye. “It is a heartbreaking day for our family, but we must protect Arthur Vance’s legacy.”
“Shall we proceed with the vote to liquidate the cybersecurity assets to our foreign partners?” Sterling asked, pen raised above the document.
“Wait,” one board member said, frowning. “Where is the primary encryption key? We can’t approve the transfer without Clara’s master key.”
“The key has been recovered,” Sterling lied smoothly, reaching for a USB drive sitting on the table. “We have full access.”
suddenly, the lights in the boardroom dimmed automatically.
The grand 100-inch display flickered violently, static tearing across the screen before the company logo vanished, replaced by a live video feed from the building’s basement server room.
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The room gasped.
Sitting in a wheelchair directly in front of the server racks was me.
