Chapter 8 - The Sting
The next afternoon, at 4:30 PM, thirty minutes before Victor Sterling’s deadline, I walked into the high-floor executive boardroom of Sterling Capital.
Victor was sitting at the head of a long glass table, flanked by three senior attorneys. A thick stack of acquisition contracts for Cross Meridian sat before him.
"You’re cutting it close, Amelia," Victor said, checking his gold Rolex. "I was beginning to think you were going to let your company burn."
"I don't burn, Victor. I illuminate," I said, sitting down at the opposite end of the table. I was accompanied only by Arthur Vance.
"Do you have the executed sale agreement for Cross Meridian?" Victor asked, gesturing to his lawyer.
"I have something better," I said.
Arthur reached into his briefcase and placed a digital recorder on the table, along with a stack of federal sub-poenas. He pressed play.
Julian’s voice echoed clearly through the boardroom speakers: "I can't sign this, Victor! Amelia didn't sign the power of attorney! She's in London!"
Then came Victor’s distinct, icy voice: "I don't care who signed it, Julian. Use the digital stamp from her desk drawer. Seal the document. Once I have the 20% stake, I'll leverage her into selling Cross Meridian, and you'll get your offshore payout. If you refuse, I'll send your mother to prison tomorrow."
Victor’s face went completely grey. The three lawyers beside him instantly lowered their pens, looking at their client in sheer horror.
"That recording is illegal!" Victor snarled, slamming his hands on the table. "Illinois is a two-party consent state! You can't use that in court!"
"Normally, that’s true, Victor," Arthur Vance said with a cold, professional grin. "Except the meeting took place in your secondary office in Merrillville, Indiana—a one-party consent state. And the Federal Bureau of Investigation considers extortion and corporate conspiracy to be federal offenses regardless of state boundaries."
The double doors of the boardroom swung open. Two special agents from the FBI’s White-Collar Crime Division stepped into the room, accompanied by two uniformed officers.
"Victor Sterling," the lead agent said, stepping forward with handcuffs. "You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, extortion, and corporate espionage."
Victor stood frozen as the agents pulled his arms behind his back. He glared at me with pure hatred as they led him toward the door.
May you like
"Your father would be proud," Victor spat as he passed my chair.
"My father is dead, Victor," I said softly, looking him dead in the eye. "And you just got defeated by his daughter."
