Chapter 8 - The Price of Treachery
The atmosphere in the boardroom shifted instantly and irreversibly. The corporate directors who had been hovering near neutrality looked at Diane and Valerie with utter disgust.
Caleb stood up slowly, leaning forward against the table as he looked at his two sisters.
“By releasing that edited video,” Caleb said quietly, “you caused intentional financial harm to Sterling Logistics to force an illegal executive takeover. That constitutes a direct breach of your fiduciary duties as board members.”
Bruna pulled a set of legal documents from her briefcase and slid them across the polished table toward Marcus Vance.
“These are formal court petitions for full corporate injunctions against Diane and Valerie Sterling,” Bruna explained. “We are filing charges for felony child endangerment, defamation, and malicious intent to manipulate public securities.”
Valerie stood up from her chair, her voice turning high and hysterical. “You can’t do this! We are family!”
“You surrendered the right to call us family the moment you put a target on my son,” Caleb replied coldly.
Marcus Vance picked up the legal documents and reviewed them quickly before looking at the rest of the board members. “All those in favor of immediately revoking Diane and Valerie Sterling’s board seats and freezing their company dividends pending a full legal investigation, raise your hands.”
Every single director in the room—including those who had previously supported the sisters—raised their hands without hesitation.
Eleanor sat frozen in her seat, tears silently leaking down her face as she realized the empire her daughters had tried to steal had just completely closed its doors to them forever.
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“The motion passes unanimously,” Marcus declared, slamming his gavel onto the wood block with a loud, final crack. “Security, please escort these former directors out of the building.”
Two tall security officers stepped into the boardroom, gesturing toward the door. Diane and Valerie pulled their bags close, their faces pale and ruined as they were forced to walk past their brother in complete humiliation.
