Chapter 16
Cornered and entirely stripped of all leverage, Jonathan’s desperation violently mutated into primal aggression. With a feral shout, he snatched a heavy bronze sculpture from the center of the boardroom table and lunged directly at Eleanor, aiming a crushing blow at her temple. Eleanor didn't flinch. She had spent five agonizing years surviving the psychological warfare of a man who called her a beggar living off his table; a physical attack was pathetic in comparison. Before Jonathan could close the gap, Arthur Blackwood moved with a terrifying speed that completely defied his sixty-eight years. The patriarch stepped decisively into Jonathan’s path, his massive hand snapping forward to seize his son's wrist mid-swing. The sickening crunch of compressing bone echoed sharply through the room. Jonathan shrieked, dropping the bronze sculpture to the floor with a heavy thud as he fell to his knees in agony. "You actually dare raise a hand to her?" Arthur whispered, his voice a low, concussive rumble that resonated in the chest. He twisted Jonathan's arm, pinning him effortlessly to the carpeted floor. "You tried to steal her child, you tried to steal her birthright, and now you try to strike her down in my presence?" "My wrist!" Jonathan sobbed, his manic ambition entirely replaced by raw, humiliating pain. "Father, please! You're breaking it!" The heavy boardroom doors swung open, and Harrison strode in, flanked closely by two detectives in dark suits—the exact same task force that had dragged Julian Vance out of the St. Regis ballroom. "Mr. Chairman. Director Blackwood," Harrison said crisply, completely ignoring the weeping executive on the floor. "The District Attorney has fully processed the encrypted logs you provided. The warrants for Jonathan Blackwood have been formally signed." Eleanor looked down at her brother, her hazel eyes utterly devoid of pity. "Jonathan Blackwood, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit interstate kidnapping, wire fraud, and corporate espionage." "You can't do this to me!" Jonathan wailed as the detectives hauled him up by his uninjured arm, pulling a pair of heavy steel handcuffs from their belts. "I am a board member! I demand legal counsel!" "You can call Vance & Sterling Legal," Eleanor said coldly, echoing the cowardly demand Julian had made earlier. "Though I heavily doubt they will answer. Their firm is currently being liquidated." Click. Click. The cold steel locked securely around Jonathan's wrists.
