Chapter 6 - The Coronation of a New Sovereign
The sun rose over the glass spires of the city,
but for the employees of the Sterling Group,
it felt like the dawn of an execution.
Every news outlet from the Wall Street Journal to the local tabloids had the same headline plastered across their front pages.
"THE STERLING SHAM: THE BILLION-DOLLAR FRAUD EXPOSED BY THE WOMAN WHO BUILT IT."
I stood in the lobby of the headquarters,
the building that bore my husband’s name in giant,
chrome letters.
For years,
I had walked through these doors as the "First Lady of Tech,"
a decorative accessory who smiled for the cameras and stayed out of the way.
Today,
I walked in as the owner.
The security guards,
who usually gave me a polite but dismissive nod,
now stood at rigid attention.
They had received the memo at 4:00 AM.
The Sterling name was being stripped from the walls.
"Good morning,
Mrs. Vance,"
the head of security said,
his voice trembling slightly.
I stopped and looked at him,
my eyes cold and sharp.
"It’s just Ms. Vance now,"
I replied,
not breaking my stride.
"And I want those letters outside removed by noon.
If a single 'S' is still visible on this building by lunch,
you can consider your contract terminated."
I took the private elevator to the top floor,
the same elevator Carter used to peacock in.
When the doors opened,
the entire executive floor was in a state of frantic motion.
Assistants were shredding documents,
lawyers were shouting into phones,
and the board of directors was gathered in the main conference room,
looking like a group of men waiting for a firing squad.
I walked into the boardroom,
not waiting for an invitation.
I didn't sit at the side.
I walked straight to the head of the table and pulled out the heavy,
leather chair.
"Gentlemen,"
I said,
dropping my designer briefcase onto the polished oak table with a heavy thud.
The sound made the Chairman of the Board jump.
"Let’s skip the pleasantries.
You’ve all seen the filings.
You’ve seen the patent revocations.
You know that as of this moment,
this company has no product,
no IP,
and no cash flow."
"Samantha,"
the Chairman started,
his voice patronizing.
"We understand you’re upset about Carter’s… personal indiscretions.
But this is business.
You’re destroying thousands of jobs just to spite your husband."
I leaned forward,
my smile not reaching my eyes.
"I’m not destroying jobs,
Arthur.
I’m reclaiming my property.
The 'Apex' algorithm was never Carter’s to sell.
The capital that kept this company afloat for the last three years was a loan from my family trust,
not a gift.
Carter violated the terms of that loan the moment he used corporate funds to buy a penthouse for his mistress in Paris."
The room went silent.
The directors exchanged nervous glances.
They knew about the penthouse,
of course.
They had helped him hide it.
"I have the receipts for everything,"
I continued,
pulling a stack of folders from my bag.
"Every dinner,
every diamond necklace,
every flight Khloe took on that jet was paid for with money that belongs to me.
And since you all signed off on those expenses as 'business development,'
you are all personally liable for the embezzlement."
The color drained from Arthur’s face.
"What do you want?"
"I want your resignations,"
I said,
sliding a stack of papers across the table.
"Every single one of you.
Effective immediately.
In exchange,
I won't name you as co-conspirators when I hand these files over to the SEC this afternoon."
"You can’t do this,"
one of the younger directors hissed.
"We’ll fight you in court for years!"
"You can try,"
I said,
standing up.
"But you’ll be doing it with your own money,
not the company’s.
And since I’ve frozen all the corporate accounts,
I doubt you can afford the retainer for a lawyer good enough to beat me."
I walked to the floor-to-ceiling window,
looking out at the city I now held in the palm of my hand.
"You have ten minutes to sign,"
I said,
not looking back.
"After that,
the offer is off the table,
and the police will be waiting downstairs."
One by one,
I heard the scratching of pens against paper.
The sound of their defeat was the most beautiful music I had ever heard.
Carter thought he was a king because he had a crown.
He forgot that I was the one who forged it.
May you like
And now,
I was melting it down to build my own throne.
