Chapter 14 - Playing the Devil's Game
Returning to the corporate headquarters felt like walking into a gladiatorial arena. The board members looked at me with a mix of shock and suspicion. I had abandoned them during a major merger; now I was back, demanding resources.
But I didn't come to beg. I came with leverage. Before I resigned, I had secured encrypted files detailing the board's offshore accounts—illegal tax havens my father had set up.
"You will authorize a full security detail for my family, and you will retain the top three family law firms in the state under the corporate umbrella," I told the board, slamming my laptop onto the mahogany table. "If you refuse, these files go to the federal prosecutors by midnight."
"This is blackmail, Marcus!" one senior board member shouted.
"This is family," I corrected coldly.
As I left the building, my phone rang. A restricted number. I answered it.
"Marcus," a voice purred. It was Sarah. She sounded manic, unstable, yet terrifyingly confident. "Did you like my little message to Ethan? He misses his mother. Your father sends his regards from the inside, by the way. He’s very proud of how much you look like him when you’re angry. We’re going to take everything, Marcus. The money, the house, and the kids."
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"Touch them again, Sarah, and the prison you end up in won't have a parole board," I threatened.
"Oh, sweetie," she laughed. "I'm already in hell. I'm just bringing you down with me."
