Chapter 9 - The Final Strike“Ju-Julian?” Arthur choked out, gripping the arms of his chair so hard his knuckles turned white. “That’s impossible... you’re dead!”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Artie,” Julian said, walking calmly down the center aisle of the boardroom until he stood right beside Marcus’s chair. “It turns out federal witness protection and high-end encryption are a lot harder to crack than you thought.”
Richard stood up, his face turning purple with rage. “Security! Security, get this man out of here! He’s a fugitive! He’s a convicted embezzler!”
“He was never convicted, Richard,” a cool, robotic voice chimed in from the wall speaker.
The double doors opened again, followed by three federal agents in dark suits holding a stack of federal arrest warrants and asset-seizure orders, flanked by two armed U.S. Marshals.
The lead agent stepped forward, flashing a gold badge. “Richard Vance, Arthur Sterling, you’re under arrest for federal wire fraud, corporate racketeering, and conspiracy to commit extortion.”
“You can’t do this!” Richard screamed as the marshals moved in behind them, wrenching their arms back and clicking cold steel handcuffs around their wrists. “This is a hostile takeover! Marcus, you can’t let them do this!”
Marcus leaned back in his chair, folding his hands calmly over his chest.
“I’m not letting them do anything, Richard,” Marcus said softly. “That’s just good business.”
As the two disgraced board members were dragged screaming and kicking out of the executive suite, the remaining board members sat frozen in stunned, absolute silence.
Marcus stood up, buttoning his jacket, and looked around the room.
May you like
“The meeting is adjourned,” Marcus said quietly. “Send all future restructuring proposals through the new chief financial officer.”
He turned to Julian, offering his hand. Julian gripped it firmly, a genuine smile breaking across both of their faces.
