Chapter 14
Jonathan aggressively tapped a command on the digital console embedded in the boardroom table. Instantly, the massive holographic screens lining the walls flared to life, displaying the live video feeds of twelve Blackwood Global executive board members from across the globe. "As you can see, Father," Jonathan sneered, gesturing grandly to the glowing screens, "I didn't just lock down the floor. I initiated an emergency continuity protocol. With Julian's medical expert certifying Eleanor as mentally incompetent, and the stunt she just pulled ruining the St. Regis gala, the board is voting to permanently strip her of her voting rights." Arthur’s face hardened into a pitiless mask. He looked at the digitized faces of men he had personally enriched for decades. "If any man on this screen casts a vote against my daughter, I will personally see them bankrupted by sunrise." A murmur of nervous hesitation rippled through the remote feeds, but Jonathan merely laughed. "Your threats don't work anymore, old man," Jonathan said, his eyes gleaming with manic ambition. "I promised them a thirty-percent dividend increase once we successfully absorb the Sterling logistics network. Genevieve's father is entirely ruined, which means we rapidly buy his assets for pennies on the dollar. They are voting with their wallets." Eleanor didn't panic. She didn't shout. She simply reached into the interior breast pocket of her tailored blazer and withdrew her titanium-encased satellite phone. "You always were uniquely obsessed with the Sterling logistics network," Eleanor said, her hazel eyes locking intensely onto her brother. "You even told Julian that Genevieve's father brought a nine-figure logistics network to the table." "It's the most valuable terrestrial shipping fleet on the eastern seaboard," Jonathan spat defensively. "It was," Eleanor corrected calmly. "Until I instructed Harrison to execute the short positions on Sterling Logistics and forcefully pull their thirty-million-dollar collateral facility twenty minutes ago." The boardroom went completely dead silent. The board members on the screens began typing frantically, their faces rapidly draining of color as the devastating market alerts hit their personal terminals. "What did you do?" Jonathan whispered, the arrogant smirk completely vanishing from his face. "I forced Sterling Logistics into involuntary Chapter 7 liquidation," Eleanor stated, her voice as flat and unyielding as a frozen lake. "By eight o'clock tomorrow morning, the company you just promised this board will be trading at zero."
