"I did what was necessary for the survival of Sterling Global!" Victoria shouted back, dropping all pretense of innocence. Her eyes flashed with pure, unadulterated ambition. "You think you could run this firm, Marcus? You're an operator! You know how to manage trucks and docks, but you don't know how to navigate the board! If I didn't take control, the private equity groups would have bought us out by next spring!"
Chapter 6: The Price of Treason
Charles walked slowly past Marcus, stopping three feet away from his daughter.
He looked down at Victoria. The tears on his face had dried, leaving faint, pale streaks against his skin. His eyes were no longer those of a confused old man; they held the cold, uncompromising authority of the captain who had built a global empire from a single wooden barge.
"I gave you everything, Victoria," Charles said quietly. "I made you Chief Legal Counsel when you were thirty years old. I trusted your judgment above everyone else in this building."
"You passed me over for the chair, Dad," Victoria sneered, her chin raised in defiance. "You gave Mother's proxy to yourself because you couldn't stand the idea of a woman running your board."
"I kept the proxy," Charles corrected her, his voice rising in power, "because your mother specifically wrote in her private codicil that you were reckless with authority. She knew you cared more about winning than about the three thousand workers whose families depend on our payroll."