Chapter 6 - The Fall of Sloane
Two weeks after the board coup, the autumn rain beat relentlessly against the high glass windows of David Sterling’s office on the thirty-second floor of the Sterling, Vance & Croft building.
Claire sat in a plush leather armchair, sipping a cup of Earl Grey tea.
Across from her sat David Sterling and his senior litigation partner, Sarah Vance.
"Sloane Merritt’s attorneys called this morning," Sarah announced, opening a blue case file on the coffee table. "They are begging for a global settlement."
Claire raised an eyebrow over her tea cup. "What are they offering?"
"Full surrender," Sarah replied. "She has agreed to execute a complete quitclaim deed returning all real estate titles held by Vanguard Logistics to the court receiver. She has surrendered her offshore bank accounts in the Caymans, which contained approximately twelve million dollars in unspent cash transfers. And she has offered a sworn affidavit detailing Evan’s direct role in orchestrating the unauthorized wire transfers."
Claire set her tea cup down on the saucer with a quiet clink.
"And in exchange?" Claire asked.
"In exchange, she wants us to drop the civil fraud and conversion claims against her personally, and to recommend to the District Attorney that she receive immunity from state prosecution," Sarah said.
Claire looked out the window at the rain sweeping across the Boston skyline.
She remembered the night at the Laurent. She remembered the pale gold dress. She remembered the sound of Sloane’s palm striking her face, and the arrogant, venomous words that had accompanied it: “You needed someone to finally tell you this isn't your company.”
Sloane hadn't just been a mistress. She had been an active participant in an attempt to strip Claire of her identity, her dignity, and her family’s legacy.
"No immunity," Claire said softly.
Sarah Vance leaned forward. "Claire, her testimony makes the criminal case against Evan absolute. Without her affidavit, prosecuting Evan for felony embezzlement will require six months of complex international banking discovery."
"We already have six months of international banking discovery," Claire replied calmly, looking at David Sterling. "Don't we, David?"
David smiled—a sharp, cold, brilliant smile.
"We received the final banking disclosures from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority yesterday afternoon, Sarah," David told his partner. "We don't need Sloane’s affidavit. We have the wire confirmation codes signed with Evan’s personal digital key. Sloane isn't a key witness anymore. She’s just a co-conspirator."
Claire stood up, pulling her wool coat over her shoulders.
"Tell her attorneys that she surrenders all assets immediately," Claire instructed Sarah. "If she does so by five o'clock tomorrow, we will agree not to seek punitive damages in the civil suit. But as for the criminal charges? That is between Miss Merritt and the United States Attorney."
Twenty-four hours later, Sloane Merritt signed the unconditional asset surrender agreement in a small, windowless conference room at the county courthouse.
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When she walked out onto the street, wearing a plain rain jacket and carrying her belongings in two cardboard boxes, a dozen news photographers were waiting for her on the sidewalk.
The flashbulbs exploded in her face, capturing her weeping, pale, and completely destitute—the image printed on the front page of the Boston Globe the following morning under the headline: THE PRICE OF AMBITION: MISTRESS SURRENDERS MILLIONS IN HAWTHORNE FRAUD CASE.
