Chapter 5 - Shadows of the Past
The news of Richard Sterling’s arrest sent shockwaves through the financial world. By six o'clock that evening, the stock of Reed Global Enterprises had dropped nine percent on the news of corporate fraud at the highest level. TV crews and news helicopters swarmed the street outside our corporate headquarters, their bright lights flashing against the glass facade.
Inside my private office on the 52nd floor, the air was quiet.
I sat behind my massive glass desk, staring at the cityscape below. The rain had stopped, leaving the streets glittering under the streetlights like spilled diamonds. On my desk lay the contract, the black cardboard box containing Clara’s gold bracelet, and a thick legal file prepared by Arthur Pendelton.
Arthur knocked softly on the open door frame before stepping inside, carrying a steaming mug of coffee.
"The board has officially suspended Richard's voting rights," Arthur said, placing the coffee on my desk. "The district attorney’s office has already frozen his personal assets and offshore accounts. The recorded call from 2011 was enough for a judge to deny him bail."
"And the company?" I asked without looking away from the window.
"Panicked, but stable," Arthur replied. "The board wants you to issue a public statement before the Asian markets open tonight. They want you to reassure investors that the firm’s core operations remain untainted."
I turned my chair to face him. "And what about the thirty percent equity stake held by Clara Vance?"
Arthur sighed, taking a seat across from me. He adjusted his spectacles nervously. "Jonathan... from a purely legal perspective, Richard wasn't entirely wrong about the statute of limitations. The contract was never registered with the state SEC. Clara Vance signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding her husband's termination package back in 2012, which included a liability waiver. If we fight this in court, our legal team can successfully quash her claim within six months."
I stared at Arthur for several seconds, feeling a deep, cold disgust settle in my chest. "Is that what you think my father would have wanted?"
"Your father was a businessman, Jonathan," Arthur said gently. "He wanted to protect his company."
"My father signed that paper because a man died saving his business," I said, my voice rising. "He signed it because he owed his life and his fortune to David Vance. My father didn't hide that contract out of greed, Arthur—he hid it because Richard Sterling threatened to murder Clara and Lila if the truth ever came to light!"
I stood up, pulling the legal file toward me. "Prepare the transfer papers."
Arthur blinked. "What transfer papers?"
"Thirty percent of Reed Global Enterprises is to be transferred immediately into a blind irrevocable trust managed by Clara Vance, with Lila Vance named as the sole beneficiary upon her eighteenth birthday," I commanded. "Furthermore, I want a back-dated dividend distribution calculated for the last fifteen years, plus compound interest."
Arthur gasped. "Jonathan! Do you have any idea how much money that is? The dividend payout alone will cost the firm nearly eighty million dollars in liquid cash!"
"Then write the check from my personal equity account," I said coldly. "I will not build my wealth on the bones of an innocent family."
Arthur looked at me for a long moment, seeing the absolute finality in my eyes. He slowly nodded, taking his glasses off to wipe them with a silk handkerchief. "You really are Thomas Reed's son. I'll have the legal division draft the settlement by midnight."
"Good. Now, bring my car around. I'm going back to Oak Creek."
Twenty minutes later, the black Maybach pulled up in front of the narrow row house. The street was quiet now, the rain replaced by a cool evening breeze. Marcus opened my door, stepping out to stand guard at the bottom of the stoop as I climbed the worn stone steps.
I walked up to door 2B and knocked softly.
The door opened almost instantly. Clara stood there, her eyes swollen and red, a small suitcase sitting near the entryway hall tree. She looked terrified, as if expecting the police or media to swarm her hallway at any moment.
"Jonathan," she whispered, stepping back to let me enter. "I saw the news on television... they arrested Richard Sterling."
"It's over, Clara," I said, stepping into the small living room. "Richard will spend the rest of his life in a federal prison. He can never hurt you or Lila again."
Clara covered her face with her hands, letting out a long, shuddering sob that seemed to release fifteen years of stored terror and isolation. I stood quietly, allowing her to cry, until she finally wiped her eyes and looked up at me.
"Thank you," she choked out. "Thank you for believing us."
"I didn't just come here to tell you about Richard," I said, pulling a blue legal folder from my coat pocket and placing it on the pine coffee table. "This is a full settlement agreement. Reed Global is transferring thirty percent controlling equity to you and Lila, along with eighty million dollars in back dividends to compensate for the last fifteen years."
Clara stared at the blue folder as if it were a explosive device. "No... no, Jonathan, I can't take that. I didn't give Lila that paper to get rich. I just wanted my husband's memory restored. I just wanted... I wanted people to know David wasn't a thief."
"Your husband was a hero, Clara," I said softly. "And this money isn't charity. It's what David earned. It's what Thomas promised."
Before Clara could answer, the bedroom door opened slowly.
Lila stood in the doorway, wearing flannel pajamas, holding her small cloth pouch. She looked up at me, her big dark eyes searching my face.
"Mr. Reed?" she asked softly. "Did you fix it?"
I looked down at the tiny girl who had walked into Collins Pawn Shop with eighty-seven dollars and a crumpled fifty-dollar bill, entirely unaware that she was holding the key to a billion-dollar empire.
I smiled—a real, genuine smile that felt completely foreign on my face.
May you like
"Yes, Lila," I said, stepping over to kneel down on the hardwood floor in front of her. "I fixed it."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small black cardboard box, placing it gently into her small hands. "And I brought your mother's bracelet home."
