Chapter 7 - The Inheritance Trap
I didn't touch the manila folder immediately. I kept my gaze locked on Julian’s jittery, desperate eyes, letting the silence stretch until the tension in the room became almost unbearable.
“Victoria was desperate when she realized she was losing,” I said calmly. “She would sell her own soul to hurt me. Whatever garbage she handed you, Julian, it holds no legal weight.”
“Does it?” Julian challenged, tapping his fingernail against the weathered cardboard of the folder. “Open it, Chloe. Look at the documents inside. Contracts signed by your mother twenty years ago, detailing how the original Sterling capital wasn't earned through tech investments, but through a hostile buyout orchestrated by your father—funded by embezzled funds from the Vance family trust.”
My heart skipped a single beat, though I didn't let my expression change by so much as a micro-expression.
If true, those documents could destroy the legitimacy of Sterling & Vance Capital overnight, opening the firm up to a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit from the Vance family estate—and dragging Marcus Vance, my closest ally on the board, into an impossible conflict of interest.
“And what does a discredited corporate grifter like you want in exchange for this little file?” I asked quietly.
Julian’s smile widened into a predatory grin. “Fifty million dollars wired to an offshore account by midnight tonight. And my reinstatement as senior vice-president of acquisitions at this firm.”
I leaned back slowly in my leather chair, letting out a soft, cold laugh.
“Fifty million dollars,” I repeated, shaking my head. “Julian, you clearly haven't been paying attention to who you’re trying to extort.”
Before Julian could respond, I reached out and pressed the intercom button on my desk.
“Maya, connect me to Marcus Vance in the legal department, and patch in Captain Miller of corporate security.”
Julian’s arrogant smirk vanished instantly. He sprang up from his chair, his hands flying toward the manila folder. “What are you doing? If I walk out of here with this file—!”
“You aren't walking anywhere, Julian,” I interrupted, standing up to my full height.
The heavy oak doors of my office burst open, and Captain Miller—a towering former military operative now heading our security detail—stepped into the room flanked by two guards.
“You called, Ms. Sterling?” Miller asked crisply.
“Escort Mr. Vance to the holding room downstairs,” I commanded, pointing a finger at the terrified man. “Confiscate his phone, seize the manila folder, and inform federal marshals that we have a suspect attempting corporate extortion using stolen, falsified documents.”
“No, wait! You can’t do this!” Julian screamed as Miller’s massive hands clamped down on his shoulders, dragging him backward toward the elevators while he thrashed and cursed.
As the elevator doors closed on his frantic face, I walked over to the desk, picked up the manila folder, and flipped it open.
May you like
A single glance at the papers inside confirmed what I already suspected: they were amateurish, poorly forged photocopies. Victoria really was losing her touch.
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