Chapter 5 - The Underworld of Mendes Corp
Determined to break the trap Richard and Eleanor Vance had set for him, Gabriel moved his operations to a private, secure office in downtown Boston.
Although he had stepped down as CEO, Gabriel still owned 38% of Mendes Corp’s voting shares—making him the largest individual shareholder.
At 9:00 PM that evening, the door to his private office opened. Regina stepped inside, carrying a encrypted hard drive.
She had resigned from Mendes Corp two hours after Gabriel left, refusing to work under Richard Vance’s toxic leadership.
"Regina," Gabriel said, standing up from his desk. "You didn't have to ruin your career for me."
"My career was built on your vision, Gabriel," Regina said fiercely, setting the hard drive on his desk. "Not Richard Vance’s corruption. And I’m not going to let those vultures take your daughter from you."
Gabriel felt a wave of deep gratitude. "What did you find?"
Regina plugged the hard drive into Gabriel’s laptop. "While Richard was busy celebrating his temporary takeover of the board, I accessed the encrypted server files regarding the TechCorp acquisition."
She brought up a series of complex financial routing logs on the screen.
"Look here," Regina pointed. "TechCorp isn't just an educational technology company. It’s a shell company registered in the Cayman Islands... owned covertly by Richard Vance’s family trust."
Gabriel’s eyes widened as he scanned the offshore transaction records.
"He was using Mendes Corp capital to buy his own shell company at a three-hundred-percent markup," Gabriel realized, his mind piecing together the corporate treason. "He was embezzling over forty million dollars from our shareholders!"
"And there's more," Regina added, pulling up another folder. "Eleanor Vance—his sister-in-law at the Child Protective Services agency—received three offshore wire transfers from that same Cayman Islands account over the last six months."
Gabriel stood up, a dark, lethal smile spreading across his face. The corporate titan had returned—not to build an empire, but to destroy the monsters threatening his daughter’s future.
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"They didn't just abuse their power to stop me from getting custody," Gabriel said, his voice cold as steel. "They committed federal wire fraud, bribery, and grand larceny."
He looked at Regina. "Get Arthur on the phone. Tell him to prepare a federal indictment folder for the District Attorney and the Securities and Exchange Commission. We are going to strike back tomorrow morning."
