Chapter 14: The Final Boardroom
The armored Maybach screeched to a halt in front of a sprawling, ultra-luxury high-rise on Park Avenue.
There were no doormen in sight. The lobby was completely deserted, the pristine marble floors eerily silent. Sterling’s private security had clearly retreated upstairs to protect their boss.
“Marcus, secure the perimeter,” Julian ordered, stepping out of the vehicle and reloading his pistol. “Nobody leaves this building.”
“You got it, boss,” Marcus nodded, racking his rifle.
Julian held out his hand to Maya. She took a deep breath, stepping out onto the cold pavement. She wasn’t wearing the glamorous coat anymore; her clothes were torn, her neck bruised, but she walked with the posture of royalty.
They bypassed the front desk and walked straight into the private, biometric elevator. Julian pulled a small, encrypted override device from his pocket, plugging it into the elevator’s keypad. In seconds, the doors slid shut, and the elevator rocketed toward the penthouse.
“He’s going to have men up there,” Maya whispered, her grip tightening on Julian’s hand.
“Let them try,” Julian said coldly.
Ding.
The elevator doors slid open, revealing a staggering, multi-million dollar penthouse lined with priceless art and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park.
Three of Sterling’s private guards immediately raised their weapons.
Before they could even speak, Julian fired three suppressed shots. Pft. Pft. Pft. The guards dropped instantly, incapacitated by precision shots to their knees.
Julian stepped over them, pulling Maya alongside him, kicking open the double doors to Richard Sterling’s private study.
Richard Sterling was frantically shoving stacks of documents into a heavy iron fireplace, watching them burn. He spun around as the doors crashed open, his face draining of all color.
“Vance,” Richard gasped, dropping a file on the floor.
“Hello, Richard,” Julian said, his gun aimed directly at the billionaire’s chest. “I hear you’re having cash flow problems.”
Richard backed away, his hands raised, his eyes darting frantically around the room. “You can’t do this. I have snipers on the adjacent roofs! If I don’t check in every ten minutes, they fire through this glass!”
“There are no snipers, Richard,” Julian said smoothly, stepping fully into the room. “My men cleared the adjacent roofs twenty minutes ago. You are completely alone.”
Richard’s gaze shifted from the barrel of the gun to the woman standing beside Julian.
Maya stepped forward. She didn’t look terrified anymore. She looked like the wrath of God.
“Maya Ademi,” Richard breathed, trying to force a sickly, diplomatic smile. “Ms. Ademi, please. This is a massive misunderstanding. The… the boutique incident was handled poorly. I have already fired the manager. We can make this right. A settlement. Name your price.”
“My price?” Maya repeated, her voice echoing in the massive room. “You think you can buy my forgiveness?”
“I am offering you ten million dollars, right now,” Richard pleaded, completely ignoring Julian and appealing directly to her. “A public apology from my conglomerate. The complete restoration of your patents. Just tell your… friend here to stand down.”
Maya walked slowly toward the billionaire’s desk. She looked at the expensive mahogany, the crystal scotch glasses, the burning documents.
“Ten million dollars,” Maya mused quietly. “That’s what my dignity is worth to you?”
“Fifty million!” Richard screamed, the panic completely overtaking him. “Take the fifty million and go back to Brooklyn!”
Maya stopped right in front of him.
“I don’t want your money, Richard,” Maya said, her voice dropping into a lethal, quiet register. “I want you to look at me.”
Richard hesitated, then met her eyes.
“You called me a thief,” Maya whispered. “You let your daughter destroy my life for entertainment. You stole my life’s work to line your own pockets. You are nothing but a parasite wearing an expensive suit.”
Julian stepped up beside her, tossing a thick, legal contract onto the desk.
“Sign it,” Julian commanded. “It’s a complete transfer of the Sterling Conglomerate’s intellectual property back to Maya. Along with a full, legally binding confession of corporate espionage.”
Richard stared at the document like it was a live grenade. “If I sign this, I go to federal prison for twenty years. My legacy is over.”
“If you don’t sign it,” Julian said, cocking the hammer of his pistol and pressing it directly against Richard’s forehead, “your legacy ends in the next two seconds.”
Richard’s entire body shook. He slowly reached out, his trembling fingers grabbing a heavy gold fountain pen.
He leaned over the desk, the pen hovering above the signature line.
“You think you’ve won?” Richard suddenly whispered, his hand stopping.
Maya frowned. “Sign the paper, Richard.”
Richard slowly looked up, a sickening, terrifying grin stretching across his pale face.
“You didn’t really think I would just wait here to die, did you, Vance?” Richard said, ignoring the gun against his head. “I didn’t hire mercenaries to kill you in that building, Julian. I hired them to keep you distracted.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
Richard reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, encrypted tablet. He tapped the screen and slid it across the desk toward Maya.
“I had my team do a deep dive into your little jewelry designer while you were fighting on the stairs,” Richard sneered. “I found out exactly who she loves most in this world.”
Maya looked down at the tablet screen.
The blood instantly vanished from her face. Her entire world stopped spinning.
On the screen was a live video feed of a quiet, suburban house in New Jersey. Standing on the porch, completely unaware of the red laser dot resting directly on her forehead, was Maya’s younger sister, Zara.
“No,” Maya choked out, sheer terror ripping through her throat. “NO!”
“Drop the gun, Vance,” Richard whispered, his eyes gleaming with psychotic triumph. “Or the girl’s brain decorates the porch.”
