Chapter 4 - The Fall of the Regent
Before Julian’s fingers could even brush the collar of her coat, the heavy boardroom doors flew open with a resounding crash.
Two armed private security officers—not the corrupted lobby guards, but federal contractors hired directly by Seraphina’s private firm—swarmed the room. In less than two seconds, Julian was pinned face-down against the teak conference table, his arms twisted behind his back with bone-crunching force. A pair of cold steel handcuffs clicked sharply around his wrists.
"Get your hands off me! Do you know who I am?!" Julian roared, thrashing uselessly against the heavy-set guard pressing a knee into the small of his back. "I am the CEO of Solmere! I'll have you all arrested! I'll have you thrown in a black site before midnight!"
"You were the CEO, Julian," Seraphina said, standing up slowly and smoothing down the front of her gray coat. She walked around the table until she stood right beside him, looking down at his face pressed against the expensive wood. "Now, you're just a trespassing suspect being detained for corporate fraud, embezzlement, and conspiracy to commit murder."
She looked up at Arthur Pendelton, who was currently trying to slide under the table to escape notice.
"Arthur," she said casually. "If you leave this room before you sign the immediate resignation and asset-freezing paperwork currently printing on the sideboard, I’ll make sure you share a holding cell with Julian."
Arthur scrambled backward, scrambling to his feet and practically diving toward the printer where a stack of legal documents was rapidly emerging.
"Take him out," Seraphina instructed the guards.
Julian was hauled to his feet, kicking and screaming obscenities that echoed off the marble walls and out into the hallway, until the heavy frosted doors swung shut behind them, cutting off his pathetic shrieks.
The silence that returned to the boardroom was vastly different from the fearful quiet of ten minutes ago. It was the silence of utter submission.
Victoria Sterling stood up slowly, her hands shaking as she smoothed her skirt. She looked at Seraphina with a mixture of profound fear and reluctant awe.
"What... what are your orders, Miss Vane?" Victoria asked, her voice trembling.
Seraphina walked to the head of the table—the seat Julian had occupied with such arrogant authority just moments before—and pulled out the high-backed leather chair. She didn't sit down immediately. She stood behind it, resting her hands on the top rail, looking out over the panoramic windows at the sprawling city below. The sun was beginning to break through the morning smog, casting a sharp, golden light across the boardroom.
"First," Seraphina said, her voice ringing clear and authoritative through the room, "we audit every single regional account starting from the day of my mother's funeral. Second, we freeze all pending asset sales to offshore shell companies. And third..."
May you like
She paused, turning her gaze slowly to fix upon Victoria, Arthur, and every remaining board member.
"...we’re going to have a very long conversation about loyalty. Because the next person who decides to betray the Vane name won't get a warning. They'll get what Julian got."
