Chapter 6 - THE PUBLIC RECKONING
The scandal exploded across national media four days later.
Attorney Thomas Vance, acting on behalf of Clara Hayes and Leo Sterling, held a massive press conference at the Federal Courthouse in Boston.
Sitting beside Vance were Clara and Leo. Dozens of news cameras, journalists, and corporate analysts packed the room.
Vance plugged the audio recording from Arthur’s wooden box into the courtroom sound system. Arthur Sterling’s voice echoed through the speakers, accusing his father and sister of sabotaging his helicopter.
Simultaneously, high-definition video footage recovered from Leo's cloud server played on the large broadcast screens.
The video clearly showed Eleanor Sterling walking into eleven-year-old Leo's room on the night of the fire, confiscating his phone, removing the locking pins from his leg braces, stepping out into the hallway, and dropping the brass security bar into place across his double doors ten minutes before the fire alarms sounded.
The press room went wild. Flashbulbs exploded in a blinding storm of light. Reporters shouted questions frantically.
“Is Richard Sterling being arrested?!” “Where is Eleanor Sterling right now?!” “Miss Hayes, how did you rescue the boy?!”
Clara stepped up to the podium, her voice calm, clear, and utterly devoid of fear.
"For ten years, I worked as a housekeeper at Sterling Manor," Clara spoke into the sea of microphones. "I watched a wealthy, powerful family treat a brilliant, loving little boy like a burden because he was paralyzed. They thought because he couldn't walk, he had no voice. They thought because I was a housekeeper, I had no power."
She looked directly into the primary news camera, as if speaking to Richard and Eleanor through the screen.
"The era of the Sterling family's cruelty is over," Clara declared. "Justice for Arthur Sterling has finally arrived."
Within two hours of the press conference, federal marshals and state police officers swarmed the private five-star hotel in Newport.
Richard Sterling was arrested in the lobby, handcuffed in front of dozens of high-society guests, and charged with Federal Corporate Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, and Arson.
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Eleanor Sterling was arrested in her suite, screaming hysterically as she was dragged out in handcuffs, charged with Attempted First-Degree Murder, Child Endangerment, and Aggravated Arson.
The stock of Sterling Oil & Global Logistics plummeted thirty percent in afternoon trading, prompting the board of directors to hold an emergency meeting to strip Richard Sterling of all corporate titles.
