Chapter 6 - The Metropolitan Club
At 1:55 PM, Ethan walked into the grand dining room of the Metropolitan Club, wearing a dark suit he had bought off the rack at a department store an hour earlier using cash he had hidden in his coat.
He held his chin high, trying to project the image of a powerful executive who was simply between ventures.
In a quiet corner booth overlooking Central Park, Victor Sterling sat sipping a scotch. Beside him sat two men in charcoal suits holding thick leather folders.
"Victor," Ethan said, stepping up to the table and offering his hand.
Victor didn't shake it. He merely gestured to the empty chair across from him. "Sit down, Carter."
Ethan sat, immediately leaning forward and placing the black flash drive onto the white tablecloth. "It’s all in here, Victor. The complete offshore wire transfers from 2020 to 2023. Proof that Chairman Ashford bypassed international trade tariffs on their European routes. You hand this to the Department of Justice, and Ashford Global's board will be forced to remove Sophia by tomorrow night."
Victor picked up the black flash drive, turning it over in his hand with a faint, unreadable smile.
"Fascinating," Victor murmured. "You really are a viper, aren't you, Ethan? Eight years married to a woman who gave you everything, and you try to sell her family out the second she stands up to you."
Ethan’s smile faltered slightly. "This is business, Victor. You wanted Ashford Global down? I’m giving you the hammer."
"I do want Ashford Global down," Victor agreed softly. "But I’m a businessman, Carter. Not a fool. And I don't deal with traitors who don't know who really owns the room."
Victor snapped his fingers once.
The two men in suits sitting beside him stood up, pulled federal credentials from their coats, and held them out.
"Ethan Carter," the first man declared. "I am Special Agent Miller with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division. And this is Special Agent Davis with the FBI Financial Crimes Unit."
Ethan’s heart dropped into his stomach like a lead weight. "What... what is this?"
The side doors of the private dining room opened.
I walked into the room, wearing a tailored navy blue pantsuit, flanked by Arthur Pendelton and two state prosecutors.
"Hello, Ethan," I said smoothly, taking a seat at the table beside Victor Sterling, who politely stood up and bowed his head to me.
"Victor?" Ethan gasped, his eyes darting frantically between us. "You... you were working with her?!"
"Mr. Sterling has been a close personal friend of my father for thirty years, Ethan," I said, leaning back and resting my hands gracefully on the table. "Did you really think a veteran billionaire would take a meeting with a disgraced ex-executive who was dumped on TikTok eight hours ago?"
Ethan collapsed back into his chair, breathing rapidly, his face turning a sickly shade of green.
"The drive you just handed over," Agent Miller said, plugging the black flash drive into a secure forensic tablet, "contains stolen corporate records, fabricated tax ledgers, and attempted extortion materials targeting a federal defense contractor."
"Fabricated?!" Ethan screamed, jumping out of his seat. "No! Those are real! They committed tax fraud!"
"The ledgers on that drive were planted in your private office safe three weeks ago, Ethan," Arthur Pendelton explained with a soft laugh. "We knew you were looking for leverage to bypass your prenuptial agreement. Every document you just tried to sell to Mr. Sterling was a honeypot designed by our legal team to track your intent to commit corporate treason."
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Ethan stood frozen in the middle of the dining room as the two federal agents stepped behind him, pulling heavy steel handcuffs from their belts.
"Ethan Carter," Agent Miller declared, snapping the cuffs tightly around Ethan’s wrists behind his back. "You are under arrest for grand larceny, corporate embezzlement, criminal extortion, and attempted sale of classified corporate trade secrets."
