Chapter 17 - The Boardroom Siege
The revelation of the attempted murder plot turned the entire state of Iowa against Corbin Mercer and the remnants of his financial firm.
The public narrative that Corbin had tried to spin through his defense attorney collapsed within an hour of the news leaking to the press.
Protesters gathered outside the Polk County Jail holding signs demanding maximum sentencing for the man who tried to murder his own wife and infant child.
Yet, the financial carcass of Mercer Capital still held contracts that needed to be severed at the corporate headquarters downtown.
On the final Monday of April, I arrived at the high-rise glass tower that Corbin had once strutted through like an untouchable emperor.
I was dressed in a tailored navy suit, my hair pinned back sharply, walking between my father and a team of forensic accountants from the state Department of Justice.
The lobby receptionists and junior brokers froze in place as the elevators opened, their faces turning pale with shock and embarrassment.
The boardroom on the thirty-second floor was packed with Corbin’s former board members, venture capitalists, and the shell company representatives Julian Vance had installed.
Arthur Sterling, Corbin's defense attorney, was sitting at the head of the mahogany table, furiously shuffling folders as we walked through the double doors.
"Mrs. Mercer, you have no legal authority to enter this executive session!" Sterling blustered, his voice cracking with anxiety.
"The receivership is under temporary dispute, and your presence violates our protective order!"
Colonel Everett stepped forward, placing a thick leather-bound binder directly in front of the panicked lawyer.
"The protective order was revoked at eight o’clock this morning by Judge Montgomery," Everett announced, his voice booming across the glass room like thunder.
"Under Iowa Code Chapter 633, any assets procured through felonious fraud and premeditated violence immediately revert to the primary victim."
Marcus Hayes dropped a second set of documents onto the table with a resounding thud.
"We also hold the original deeds to the land beneath this very building," Marcus added with a thin, ruthless smile.
"Colonel Everett purchased the commercial ground lease twenty-five years ago through his family trust."
"You are sitting on his property, using his electricity, breathing his air."
The board members looked at each other in sheer terror, realizing that their entire corporate empire had been built upon land owned by the very man they had tried to destroy.
One by one, the venture capitalists began closing their laptops and collecting their briefcases, abandoning Sterling to his fate.
"This firm is dissolved as of noon today," I stated, looking Sterling dead in the eye with complete, unwavering authority.
"Every desk, every computer, and every dollar will be liquidated to establish a trust fund for domestic abuse shelters across this state."
"And as for Corbin's corner office..."
May you like
I walked over to the floor-to-ceiling glass window that looked out over the sprawling city where Corbin had played his wicked games.
"Clean it out by five o’clock, or my father’s veterans will throw his Italian furniture into the street."
