Chapter 15 - The Trap is Set
“Let him chair it,” I said, a slow, calculated smile touching my lips as I picked up my desk phone. “Martin? Call the SEC enforcement division and federal marshals. Tell them we have concrete documentary proof of a premeditated corporate assassination plot spanning seven years.”
“Are we moving in now?” Martin Bell asked over the line, his voice sharp with professional excitement.
“Not yet,” I replied. “Let Arthur walk into the boardroom thinking he has won. Let him try to ram through the asset liquidation vote. We’re going to let him trap himself on the public record.”
Within twenty minutes, the entire executive floor was locked down. Federal agents in plainclothes quietly secured every exit of the grand mahogany boardroom on the forty-ninth floor, while digital forensics teams intercepted the building’s internal broadcast network to record every word spoken inside.
Julian, Noah, and I took the private private elevator down one level. We stood in the darkened observation annex behind the two-way glass wall, watching the board members take their seats around the massive conference table.
At the head of the table sat Arthur Pendelton. At eighty years old, his silver hair was impeccably groomed, and he wore a bespoke charcoal suit that radiated quiet, untouchable authority. He tapped his gold fountain pen against the blotter.
“Gentlemen,” Arthur began, his voice smooth and commanding. “As you know, the recent disruptions caused by the impostor David Vance have placed Ashford Capital in a vulnerable position. To protect our shareholders, I propose an immediate emergency vote to liquidate our primary holdings and merge our remaining assets with Global Apex Holdings.”
May you like
A murmur rippled through the board members. Several hands went up to object, but Arthur silenced them with a wave of his hand.
“There is no time for debate,” Arthur continued, his smile turning predatory. “Sign the restructuring docs now, or the firm goes under by midnight.”
