“Jessica Trent’s seal,” David continued smoothly. “Your personal assistant. Did she notarize my signature in person, Marcus? Because under Illinois state law, notarizing a signature without the signatory physically present is a Class A misdemeanor, and using that notarized document to fraudulently transfer commercial real estate carries a mandatory five-year federal prison sentence.”

Marcus laughed, leaning back in his chair. “Good luck proving it, Dave. Jessica will testify that you walked into her office yesterday at noon and signed it right in front of her. Who is the board going to believe? An unhinged man whose eight-year-old son attacked his wife at an anniversary party, or the Vice President and his trusted assistant?”

“Let’s ask her,” David said.

David pressed a button on the conference room console.

The side door to the executive suite clicked open.

Robert, David’s chief legal counsel, walked into the room. Behind him walked Jessica Trent.

Jessica’s face was completely pale. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she was clutching a folder to her chest with both hands.

Marcus shot out of his chair, his jaw dropping. “Jessica? What the hell are you doing in here? Get back to your desk!”

“Sit down, Marcus,” Robert said in a booming, authoritative voice. “Jessica has spent the last two hours giving a sworn deposition to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s financial crimes division.”

Sarah’s head snapped toward Marcus, panic suddenly flaring behind her eyes. “Marcus… what is he talking about?”

“She’s lying!” Marcus barked, his face flushing crimson. “Jessica, shut your mouth and walk out that door right now or you’re fired!”

“I already resigned, Mr. Vance,” Jessica whispered, her voice trembling. “I gave them the text messages. The ones where you told me you’d fire me and ruin my career if I didn’t stamp the back of Mr. David Vance’s old corporate deed with yesterday’s date.”

Marcus lunged around the table toward Jessica, his fists clenched. “You stupid little—”

“Step back, Marcus,” David said, his voice echoing with absolute authority.

Marcus froze. He looked at David, then at Robert, then back at Sarah.

“It doesn’t matter,” Marcus hissed, his voice dropping into a desperate, feral rasp. “It’s a minor clerical error. The digital medical proxy has already been sent to the board. The email went out last night. I control the corporate voting block as acting CEO until a full mental evaluation is completed! You can’t touch me, Dave!”

“Is that right?” David said quietly.

David picked up the remote control on the table and aimed it at the massive 85-inch digital display mounted on the boardroom wall.

He pressed the power button.

The screen flickered to life.

It wasn’t a spreadsheet. It was high-definition security footage with a clear timestamp in the upper corner: Yesterday, 2:14 PM.

The video showed the interior of David’s home office.

On the screen, Sarah walked into the room wearing a silk robe. Seconds later, Marcus appeared. The room was dead silent as the video clearly showed Marcus wrapping his arms around Sarah’s waist, kissing her neck, and laughing as she turned and passionately kissed him on the mouth.

Sarah let out a choked gasp, clapping both hands over her mouth.

Then, the audio kicked in through the boardroom ceiling speakers.

“How long?” Marcus’s voice came through crystal clear on the speakers.

“Ten minutes,” the voice of the locksmith responded on the video as he knelt before David’s safe with a heavy drill. “Like I said on the phone, the bypass destroys the biometric lock.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sarah’s voice rang out through the speakers, cold and vicious. “By the time he figures it out tomorrow night, we’ll be on the private jet. We file the digital copies in Delaware on Monday morning, and the board will freeze his access before he can even call a lawyer.”

Marcus stared at the screen, his chest heaving, the blood completely draining from his face.

“How…” Marcus choked out, his eyes bulging. “There wasn’t a camera in that room.”

“I installed a micro-lens in the smoke detector six months ago,” David said calmly. “The day you asked me why I didn’t keep cash in the safe.”

“David, wait!” Sarah suddenly screamed, scrambling out of her chair. She grabbed David’s arm across the table, her fingernails digging into his sleeve. “It was Marcus! He manipulated me! He threatened to leave me with nothing! He told me you were going to divorce me and take everything! He planned the whole thing, David, I swear on my life!”

Marcus whipped around, staring at Sarah with venomous disbelief. “You backstabbing bitch! You’re the one who hired the safecracker! You’re the one who sewed the paperwork into your damn dress!”

“Shut up!” Sarah shrieked at him. “David, please! We can fix this! Think about our family! Think about Leo!”

“Don’t you dare say my son’s name,” David said, ripping his arm out of her grasp with such force that Sarah stumbled backward, nearly falling against the glass window.

David pressed another button on the remote.

The video feed vanished, replaced by a live video conference screen.

Grid boxes populated the display. In each box sat the face of every single member of the board of directors, including Arthur Pendelton, the seventy-year-old majority shareholder.

Marcus looked up at the screen, his knees visibly buckling.

“Arthur…” Marcus stammered, raising trembling hands. “Arthur, let me explain—”

“There is nothing to explain, Marcus,” Arthur’s deep voice boomed through the speakers. “The board has been on this secure line since 7:30 AM. We have witnessed everything. We have seen the footage. We have heard the audio.”

Arthur looked down at a document in his hands.

“By unanimous vote of the board of directors, Marcus Vance is hereby terminated from his position as Vice President of Vance Enterprises, effective immediately. All corporate access, voting privileges, stock options, and executive compensation are revoked with cause.”

“You can’t do this!” Marcus yelled at the screen, tears of pure rage springing to his eyes. “I built the expansion portfolio! This company is nothing without me!”

“You didn’t build anything, Marcus,” David said, standing up from his chair. He towered over his younger brother, his eyes cold and devoid of any pity. “You stole from the company. You broke into my home. You tried to frame me as mentally incapacitated, and you tried to traumatize my child to cover your tracks.”

The boardroom doors opened once more.

Two armed building security officers stepped inside, accompanied by two uniformed Chicago police officers.

“Marcus Vance? Sarah Vance?” one of the police officers asked, stepping forward with handcuffs unclipped from his belt.

Marcus looked at the officers, then looked at David.

“You set me up,” Marcus whispered, his voice cracking with utter ruin.

“No, Marcus,” David replied, picking up his cold coffee and setting the manila folder under his arm. “You set yourself up. Leo just turned the lights on.”

— CHAPTER 4 —

The metallic click of the handcuffs locking around Marcus’s wrists sounded surprisingly loud against the glass walls of the executive boardroom.