Chapter 7 - The Standing CEO
Gasps swept through the banquet hall like a sudden gust of wind.
Chloe dropped her wine glass. Eleanor, Richard’s mother, rose from her chair, clutching her pearl necklace, her eyes wide with unadulterated shock.
"Richard?" Eleanor gasped, her voice trembling. "You... you can walk?"
"I have been able to walk for three months, Mother," Richard said calmly, standing tall, his powerful stature completely dominating the room. He walked around the head of the table, his gait firm and unyielding, stopping directly in front of his younger brother.
Ethan took a step back, his hands shaking so violently that the poisoned wine sloshed over the rim of the glass, staining his white dress shirt like blood.
"This... this is a miracle!" Ethan stammered desperately, trying to force a smile onto his pale, sweating face. "Richard, you're healed! The doctors said..."
"The doctors you paid insisted I was permanently paralyzed," Richard interrupted, his voice ringing with absolute cold authority. "The same doctors who administered muscle relaxants to keep me weak while you and Vitalis Health siphoned three hundred million dollars from my company."
"That's a lie!" Ethan screamed, turning toward the board members. "He's lost his mind! The trauma from the crash damaged his brain!"
"Is this a lie, Ethan?" I stepped forward, slamming the stolen files onto the center of the dining table directly in front of the lead federal auditor who was sitting in attendance.
The auditor, a sharp-featured man named Agent Miller, picked up the files, opening them immediately. His eyes scanned the correspondence, the telemetry override schematics, and the signed ledgers.
"These are original internal documents from the Vitalis server," Agent Miller declared coldly, looking up at Ethan. "Including the remote access codes used to override Richard Vance's vehicle braking systems."
"No... no!" Ethan backed away, his eyes darting wildly toward the side exit.
"And there's one more thing," I said, pointing at the glass of port wine Ethan was still holding. "Check the contents of that decanter. Ethan just added a neurotoxin he retrieved from his study safe five minutes ago."
Agent Miller immediately signaled to two armed federal officers standing near the entrance of the hall. "Secure the decanter. Arrest Ethan Vance and Chloe Vance for attempted murder, corporate fraud, and grand larceny."
Ethan threw the glass against the wall, turning to run toward the kitchen doors, but Richard stepped into his path with lightning speed. Richard grabbed Ethan by his collar, twisting his arm behind his back and forcing him down onto the floor, pinning him securely against the marble tile.
"Eight months in that chair gave me a lot of time to think, little brother," Richard whispered into Ethan's ear as the federal agents slapped heavy steel handcuffs onto Ethan's wrists. "You should have checked the brakes yourself."
As the officers dragged Ethan and Chloe away in handcuffs, screaming threats and denials, the dining hall erupted into chaos.
I turned around to look for Miguel.
He was creeping toward the rear patio doors, trying to slip away unnoticed into the darkness of the estate grounds.
"Miguel Torres!" Agent Miller called out over the commotion. "Don't move! Federal agents have already seized the server room in the basement. Your signature is on every fraudulent document."
Miguel froze, turning around slowly. His suit was wrinkled, his forehead covered in cold sweat. He looked at me—the woman he had dismissed as helpless, the wife his mother had said couldn't survive on her own—and his eyes filled with sheer, pathetic desperation.
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"Maya..." Miguel whimpered, taking a step toward me, holding his hands out in a pleading gesture. "Please... you have to tell them! You know me! I was forced into this! Ethan threatened me! Valerie made me sign those papers!"
I walked up to him, stopping just inches away, looking him dead in the eyes.
