Chapter 14: The Rat in the Walls
The atmosphere in the Harrington Industries boardroom was entirely different than it had been a week prior. The remaining executives sat up straight, their eyes fixed on me with a mixture of profound respect and healthy terror.
Robert Sterling sat near my right hand, looking incredibly smug. He had spent the entire morning preening, having clearly received Mr. Whitmore's "leaked" information about the COO position.
"Thank you all for being here," I said, standing at the head of the table. The digital projection screen behind me displayed the company's soaring stock prices following the successful Project Apex launch. "With Julian Thorne's arrest and Victoria's assets seized, Harrington Industries is entering a new era of transparency and growth."
"Here, here," Mr. Sterling chuckled, raising his coffee mug in a toast. "You've done an exceptional job cleaning house, Emily. Your father would be proud. We are all deeply relieved that Victoria's... toxic influence has been excised."
"Are we, Mr. Sterling?" I asked, turning my gaze slowly toward him.
The smile on his face faltered slightly. "Of course. She deceived us all."
"She did," I agreed, pressing a button on a remote control in my hand.
The soaring stock chart on the screen behind me vanished. In its place, projected in massive, undeniable high-definition, was the twenty-year-old technical handover document bearing Clara's stolen patents—and Robert Sterling's clear, un-redacted signature right next to Victoria's.
A collective gasp echoed around the table.
Sterling’s face turned the color of ash. He pushed his chair back violently, staring at the screen. "Where... where did you get that?"
"From my mother's personal files," I said, my voice cutting through the room like a scalpel. "You lied, Robert. You told the board twenty years ago that Clara's designs were a liability. You discredited her genius so Victoria could steal the patents, and in exchange, Victoria guaranteed you a permanent, highly lucrative seat on this board."
"That is a forgery!" Sterling sputtered, panic making his voice crack. He looked desperately at the other executives. "She's a child! She's making this up to consolidate power!"
"The FBI’s forensic handwriting unit authenticated it this morning," Mr. Whitmore stated smoothly from the corner of the room, tapping his briefcase. "Along with a paper trail of wire transfers from Victoria's offshore accounts into a shell company owned by your wife."
Sterling fell silent. The fight left his body, leaving only a hollow, terrified old man.
"You sat in my house. You ate my father's food. You watched me grow up, knowing what you did to my mother," I said, stepping toward him. The other executives visibly shrank back from the raw authority radiating from me. "You are a parasite, Robert."
"Emily, please," Sterling whispered, raising a trembling hand. "I had to. Victoria threatened to ruin me. I have a family."
"And so did I," I replied mercilessly. "Security."
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The heavy boardroom doors opened. Two towering security guards, accompanied by a federal agent, stepped into the room.
"Robert Sterling, you are terminated from Harrington Industries, effective immediately," I declared, turning my back on him. "Take him out through the main lobby. Let every employee see exactly what happens to rats in my walls."
