Chapter 8 - The Counter-AttackThe next morning, the executive boardroom of Reed Global hummed with tense, nervous energy.
Douglas sat at the head of the massive glass table, his expression carved from stone. Standing beside him was Marcus Cole, holding a heavy leather briefcase.
The heavy double doors swung open, and Victor Sterling walked in, flanked by two corporate attorneys, wearing a smug, arrogant grin.
“Douglas! Good morning,” Victor greeted smoothly, taking a seat directly across from him. “I trust you’ve had time to review the debt default notices for your sister’s estate. Two million dollars, due immediately. Otherwise, the foreclosure papers go to court at noon.”
Douglas didn't blink. He slowly picked up a pen, twirling it between his fingers.
“Victor,” Douglas said quietly. “You know, in the corporate world, you taught me a very valuable lesson years ago: never enter a negotiation unless you know every card your opponent is holding.”
Victor’s smile flickered for a fraction of a second. “What are you talking about?”
Marcus Cole stepped forward and opened the leather briefcase, slamming three thick stacks of certified documents onto the glass table right in front of Victor.
“Meet the counter-evidence, Victor,” Marcus said coldly.
Victor’s eyes scanned the top page. The color drained from his face so fast he looked like a ghost.
“T-This... this is...” Victor stammered.
“Federal wire fraud, illegal racketeering, insider trading, and fraudulent debt acquisition,” Douglas listed calmly, leaning forward with a terrifying, predatory smile. “Turns out, the private lenders you used to trap David Vance were directly linked to your offshore shell companies in the Cayman Islands. My team pulled your complete financial ledger over the last twenty-four hours.”
Victor stood up so fast his chair crashed backward onto the floor. “You hacked my accounts?! That’s illegal! I’ll have you arrested!”
“It’s not hacking when federal prosecutors subpoena it under suspicion of organized financial terrorism,” Douglas corrected softly. “And guess what? U.S. Attorney General’s office already has copies. If those foreclosure papers against my sister’s estate are not permanently shredded within the next sixty seconds, you won't just lose your firm—you’ll be spending the next twenty years sharing a cell with people who don't care about your silk ties.”
Victor stared at Douglas, trembling uncontrollably. He looked at the documents, then at the federal seal stamped on the bottom page.
May you like
Defeated, humiliated, and utterly destroyed, Victor grabbed the foreclosure papers, ripped them into a hundred jagged pieces, and threw them across the table.
“You’re a monster, Reed,” Victor hissed, turning around and bolting out of the boardroom without looking back.
