Chapter 7 - THE BOARDROOM SHOWDOWNThe following morning, the annual shareholder meeting of the Sterling Conglomerate was taking place in a massive, glass-walled auditorium overlooking Wall Street. Hundreds of investors, reporters, and board members filled the room. Richard Vance stood at the podium, delivering a keynote speech about the company’s record-breaking quarterly profits.
I walked down the central aisle of the auditorium, wearing my best tailored suit, holding a secured tablet in my hand. Behind me walked Marcus, flanked by two federal marshals and a team of investigative journalists from the New York Times.
"Mr. Vance," I called out, my voice cutting cleanly through the microphone system as I stepped toward the stage.
Richard stopped mid-sentence, his face turning pale as he recognized me. "Robert Mitchell? This is a private corporate assembly. You have no business—"
"I have every business," I interrupted, stepping onto the stage and plugging my tablet directly into the auditorium’s master AV console.
The massive projection screen behind Richard instantly flickered. The corporate presentation vanished, replaced by hospital birth records, DNA test results, and secret financial wire transfers originating from Richard Vance’s personal offshore accounts, paying off foster care administrators to bury a child’s identity.
May you like
Gasps echoed through the auditorium. Flashbulbs began to blind us from the press gallery.
"Ladies and gentlemen," I announced, turning to face the shocked crowd of investors. "Meet the true majority shareholder of Sterling Enterprises. A little girl who survived an assassination attempt orchestrated by the man standing right beside me."
