Chapter 7 - The Reckoning
A wave of shocked whispers rippled through the boardroom. Several older board members gasped, sitting up straight as they stared at the little girl standing beside James.
"That's absurd!" Richard shouted, standing up so fast his leather chair slid backward into the wall. "Thomas Sterling was a criminal who embezzled millions! His estate was liquidated fifteen years ago!"
"Thomas Sterling was framed," Evelyn Reed, James's attorney, announced calmly, stepping forward and opening a thick leather briefcase. She distributed folders to every board member at the table. "Included in these files are audited bank statements from offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands, registered under the name of Vance & Sterling Acquisitions—a firm secretly owned by Richard Carter."
Evelyn turned to face Richard, her expression cold and unyielding. "For fifteen years, Mr. Carter, you siphoned forty percent of the dividends belonging to the Sterling Trust into your private accounts, while systematically using local enforcers to intimidate Sarah Morrison, driving her into extreme poverty to prevent her from discovering her true inheritance."
"Lies! All lies!" Richard spat, his voice cracking with desperation as he turned to the board members. "Don't listen to them! Harold, vote the shares! We have the majority!"
"You don't have the majority, Richard," James said quietly, leaning his hands on the conference table. "Because five minutes ago, as Sarah Morrison’s court-appointed legal conservator, I officially registered the forty percent voting shares of the Sterling Trust with the SEC."
James looked around the table at the terrified board members. "Which means Sarah Morrison, through her legal trust, holds the controlling interest in Carter Enterprises. And as her designated trustee..." James looked directly at his uncle, his eyes cold as ice, "...you're fired, Richard."
Two federal agents stepped forward, pulling out a set of handcuffs.
"Richard Carter," the lead agent announced, "you are under arrest for federal wire fraud, grand larceny, corporate embezzlement, and criminal conspiracy."
As the agents slapped the steel cuffs around Richard’s wrists, the disgraced former chairman glared at James with pure, unadulterated hatred. "You ruined your own family for a washerwoman's child!" he screamed as he was dragged toward the exit. "You destroyed everything your father built!"
James didn't even look back at him. He looked down at Lucy, who was watching her uncle being led away with wide, curious eyes.
"Are you okay, Lucy?" James asked gently, kneeling beside her.
Lucy looked up at him, her little face bright and unbothered. "Is the bad man gone now?"
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"Yes, Lucy," James smiled warmly. "He's gone forever."
Lucy reached out her small hand and patted James's cheek. "I told you that you were the safe man."
