Chapter 4 - THE BOARDROOM SHOWDOWN"You're late, Daniel," my father said, his voice slurred, though his eyes burned with desperation. He looked smaller behind his massive mahogany desk, stripped of his dignity, held together only by the presence of Marcus Vance.
"I had to handle a minor rodent problem at the hospital," I replied, stepping into the expanse of the glass-walled penthouse office. The city lights below flickered through the swirling snow outside.
Vance chuckled, blowing a plume of blue cigar smoke toward the high ceiling. "Sergeant Miller, you are an impressive young man. Surviving two tours in combat, uncovering a multi-million-dollar shell game, and taking down one of my best private security assets in a dark hospital room. Impressive. But foolish."
"The federal marshals have my family, Vance," I said, advancing slowly toward the desk. "And CID has the search warrants. This building will be crawling with federal agents in less than thirty minutes."
"Thirty minutes is an eternity in finance, Sergeant," Vance said calmly, tapping the ash of his cigar into a crystal tray. "In thirty minutes, all the data on these servers will be wiped, the money in those accounts will be routed through seven foreign nations, and your father will take the fall for everything."
Richard flinched, looking up at Vance in sudden horror. "What? Marcus, that wasn't the deal! You said you’d get me out of the country!"
"Shut up, Richard," Vance said without even looking at him. "You’re a weak, pathetic old man who couldn't even control your own son. You threw your daughter-in-law into a blizzard because you were terrified she’d find the financial statements she was hiding. You’re useless."
Richard’s face paled. He looked at me, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. For the first time in my life, I saw my father for what he truly was: a coward who hid behind high walls and money he didn't earn.
"You think I came here to negotiate, Vance?" I asked, pulling out my phone. "I didn't come here to stop you from wiping the servers. I came here to broadcast."
Vance’s smile vanished. "What?"
"Five minutes ago, I uploaded the encrypted contents of the Blackstone Ledger to an open-source server linked to the Department of Justice, the IRS, and every major news outlet in the country," I said, holding up the phone screen. A red timer was ticking down. "The moment that timer hits zero, the encryption key releases automatically. The public will see the military kickbacks, the forged contracts, the illegal weapons sales, and the exact names of every board member involved."
Vance stood up, his aristocratic composure cracking for the first time. "You crazy son of a bitch... you'll ruin this entire company! Thousands of people will lose their jobs! The stock will crash to zero!"
"My wife almost died on a cold porch tonight," I said, my voice dropping to a terrifying whisper. "My baby girl’s heart almost stopped because of your greed. Do you really think I give a damn about your stock price?"
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Vance gestured sharply to his two bodyguards. "Kill him. Take his phone."
The two men pulled weapons from their jackets, but before they could raise them, the glass ceiling above us shattered into a shower of dangerous sharp fragments.
