Chapter 7 - The Cleansing
At nine o'clock the following morning, the sun rose brightly over Manhattan, painting the sky in pale shades of blue and gold.
Inside the main boardroom of the Sterling Real Estate Corporation, forty floors below the penthouse, twenty-four board members sat around an oval mahogany table. The room was buzzing with frantic, chaotic energy. Newspaper headlines from the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal were displayed on the main projection screens:
STERLING FAMILY SHOCKER: MATRIARCH ARRESTED AT 70TH BIRTHDAY GALA
BILLIONAIRE’S DAUGHTER FOUND IN HOTEL TRASH BY FATHER
FRAUD, Extortion, AND CHILD STARVATION CHARGES FILED AGAINST VICTORIA STERLING
The corporate vice-chairman, a senior executive named Richard Vance, pounded his fist on the table. "The stock is down twelve percent at the opening bell! We need to issue an official press statement declaring Victoria Sterling mentally incompetent! It’s the only way to save the corporate brand!"
The heavy double doors of the boardroom swung open.
Alexander Sterling walked into the room.
He was dressed in an unblemished navy suit, his hair neatly combed, his expression dark, sharp, and totally focused. Walking directly beside him was Arthur Pendelton, carrying three thick legal binders.
The entire boardroom went completely silent. Several executives immediately stood up from their chairs.
"Alexander," Richard Vance stepped forward, holding out his hands. "Thank God you're here. We are preparing a public relations strategy to isolate the corporation from your mother’s personal legal troubles—"
"Sit down, Richard," Alexander said, taking his seat at the head of the long mahogany table.
Richard blinked, then quickly sat back down in his chair.
Alexander looked around the table, scanning the face of every single board member. Many of these men and women had served alongside his mother for two decades. Many of them had attended her lavish dinner parties, received generous bonuses, and turned a blind eye whenever financial irregularities appeared in the foundation accounts.
"Effective as of seven o'clock this morning," Alexander began, his voice cutting through the silent room like a razor blade, "Victoria Sterling has been permanently removed from her position as Chairwoman of the Board under Section 4 of the Corporate Bylaws regarding criminal indictment."
He tapped the table once with his index finger.
"Furthermore," Alexander continued, "I am launching a complete forensic audit of every subsidiary, charity foundation, and vendor contract managed by this board over the past five years. Any executive who assisted, covered up, or benefited from my mother’s private slush funds will have thirty minutes to tender their resignation before I hand their name directly to the Southern District Federal Prosecutor."
Two senior board members near the end of the table turned noticeably pale. One of them, a man who managed the corporate real estate holdings, slowly closed his laptop, pushed his chair back, and walked out of the room without saying a word.
"To the rest of you," Alexander said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table, "let me be extraordinarily clear. The Sterling Real Estate Corporation is no longer a vanity vehicle for high society. Starting today, ten percent of our annual commercial profits will be permanently redirected into a newly formed foundation dedicated to housing security and legal support for impoverished mothers in New York City."
Richard Vance frowned slightly. "Alexander... ten percent? The institutional investors will never approve a charity allocation of that size—"
May you like
Alexander looked at him with cold, piercing eyes.
"I own fifty-two percent of the voting shares, Richard," Alexander said flatly. "I don't need their approval. And I certainly don't need yours. Meeting adjourned."
