Maya stood up, walking to the window to look out over the city.
"I want full recovery of our invested capital," Maya stated, her voice dropping to a low, absolute tone. "And I want Marcus Sterling to surrender his voting shares voluntarily."
"He will resist," Julian observed. "Those shares represent his family's remaining social status."
"He will yield," Maya replied, turning back to her brother. "Because if he refuses, I will personally hand these audit ledgers to the United States Attorney for the Eastern District. He has twenty-four hours to choose between his corporate pride and his personal freedom."
Julian nodded slowly. "And Chloe?"
"Chloe still believes her social standing is protected by her family name," Maya said smoothly. "She has secured an entry ticket to the Heritage Fund Gala at the St. Regis tomorrow night. She intends to use the event to launch a public counter-narrative, claiming her family is being targeted by aggressive corporate raiders."
A faint, cold smile touched Maya's lips.
"Ensure her seating assignment is placed directly next to the press enclosure," Maya added. "Let her have her stage. It will be the last one she ever occupies."
Julian Vance laid three thick bound volumes on the table in front of Maya.
"This is the complete audit of Sterling Logistics' off-shore holdings," Julian said, leaning over the table. "It's far worse than the public reports suggest."
Maya turned a page slowly. "How much are they hiding?"
"Seventy-five million dollars in unrecorded liabilities," Julian said. "Marcus Sterling set up shell companies in the Cayman Islands to buy back his own failing corporate bonds. He was creating the illusion of market demand to keep his stock price artificially high."
"Illegal," Maya said flatly.
"Extremely," Julian agreed. "If the SEC gets a look at these books, Marcus isn't just going bankrupt—he's going to a federal penitentiary for securities fraud and wire fraud."
Maya closed the folder with a light thud. "Who holds the underlying debt?"
"We do," Julian smiled slightly. "Through three separate subsidiaries, we bought out eighty percent of their short-term commercial paper over the last forty-eight hours. We can declare a default at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."
Maya rested her chin on her hands, studying the document. "If we force an immediate default, the company goes into receivership. The assets will be auctioned off for pennies on the dollar, the employees will lose their pensions, and Marcus will take the fall alone."
"Isn't that what we want?" Julian asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," Maya said quietly. "Bankruptcy is too clean. It gives Marcus an excuse to play the victim of market conditions, and it allows Chloe to frame herself as a tragic heiress stripped of her birthright."
Maya stood up and walked to the window, watching the rain beat against the glass.
"I want full recovery of the funds," Maya said, her voice dropping to a low, decisive tone. "And I want Marcus to sign over his remaining voting shares voluntarily."
"He'll never do that," Julian noted. "Those shares are his family's legacy. Without them, the Sterlings have nothing."
"He will," Maya replied, turning back to her brother. "Because if he doesn't, I will personally deliver these audit files to the Eastern District U.S. Attorney's office. He has twenty-four hours to choose between his pride and his freedom."
Julian nodded slowly. "And Chloe?"
"Chloe believes her social position is protected by her family's name," Maya said smoothly. "She has an invitation to the St. Regis Gala tomorrow night. She plans to use it to launch a counter-campaign, claiming her family is being targeted by corporate bullies."
A cold, faint smile touched Maya's lips.
"Ensure her table is placed directly next to the press enclosure," Maya added. "Let her have her stage. It will be the last one she ever receives."
Chapter 5: The Gala Invitation
The grand ballroom of the St. Regis was decorated in silver lace and crystal for the annual Heritage Fund Gala—the most exclusive event on the autumn social calendar. Attendance was not merely a demonstration of wealth; it was an explicit endorsement of legitimacy by Manhattan's old-money hierarchy.
In her private suite at the Plaza Hotel, Chloe Sterling stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror. She wore an intricate gold lace gown, fitted precisely to her frame, paired with a sapphire necklace borrowed on credit from an estate jeweler.
"Is the car downstairs?" she asked her assistant without looking away from her reflection.
"Yes, Chloe," the assistant said, her voice filled with anxiety. "But... your father called again. He begged you not to attend tonight. He said Vance Global's legal team just served a formal debt acceleration notice—"