Chapter 8 - The Boardroom Trap
The following morning, at 9:00 AM, the executive boardroom of Vance International on Wall Street was packed with fifteen board members, bank representatives, and legal counsel.
Richard Vance sat at the head of the mahogany table, his face drawn, dark circles under his eyes. He had spent the entire night attempting to suppress the viral video of his daughter tripping my mother, which had already racked up twelve million views online and destroyed his firm's stock value by 40% in pre-market trading.
"We just need to execute the emergency liquidity drawdown from the Caldwell Trust," Richard demanded, pounding his fist on the table. "Once we access those funds, we can stabilize the share price and issue a public apology!"
"You won't be accessing a single penny from the Caldwell Trust, Richard," a voice announced from the doorway.
The boardroom doors swung open.
I walked into the room, dressed in a sharp charcoal suit, flanked by Detective Miller, four plainclothes police officers, and three agents from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Richard jumped out of his chair. "Ethan?! How dare you walk into my boardroom after the public stunt you pulled yesterday! Security, remove this man!"
The two security guards near the door didn't move. In fact, they stepped aside as Detective Miller walked straight up to Richard.
"Richard Vance," Detective Miller announced, pulling a red folder from his coat. "I have a federal warrant for your arrest."
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Richard backed away, his hands shaking violently. "A warrant? On what grounds?! This is corporate harassment!"
"On the charges of first-degree premeditated murder, grand larceny, wire fraud, and corporate embezzlement," Detective Miller declared. "Specifically regarding the murder of Arthur Caldwell four years ago."
