Chapter 7 - The Confrontation
Ethan stood up slowly. He set his coffee cup down on the windowsill, his demeanor shifting instantly from a gentle benefactor to the predatory CEO of Carter Atlas.
"Get out of this room, Victor," Ethan said, his voice razor-sharp. "You're disturbing a sick child."
"I don't give a damn about a sick child!" Victor yelled, pointing an angry finger at Thomas, who stood up defensively beside his daughter's bed. "I know who this man is! He's three months behind on his rent in my Fifth Street building! He owes me twelve hundred dollars! And you're using your corporate weight to force me out of my own real estate company over a deadbeat dockworker?!"
Thomas flinched at the word deadbeat, his hands clenching into fists, but he remained silent for his daughter's sake.
Ethan walked slowly across the hardwood floor until he was standing three inches from Victor Vance.
"Thomas Vance works twelve hours a day at Pier 4," Ethan said, his dark eyes locking onto Victor’s. "His wife died of cancer two years ago. He pays six hundred dollars a month for a apartment where the plumbing doesn't work, the windows don't seal, and the front door deadbolt is falling off."
Ethan took a step closer, forcing Victor to back up toward the hallway.
"You cut off the hot water in that building last winter to save four hundred dollars on gas," Ethan continued, his voice cold enough to freeze the room. "And today, your bank teller laughed at an eight-year-old girl who walked into your lobby begging for medicine."
Victor sneered, trying to maintain his bravado. "It's a business, Carter! Meridian National Bank isn't a charity! Neither is Apex Real Estate! You can't buy my holding company if I don't want to sell!"
"I already own fifty-one percent of Meridian's board shares, Victor," Ethan said softly. "I bought them thirty minutes ago from the pension fund. And at six o'clock tonight, I am calling an emergency board meeting."
Victor’s face went pale. "What?"
"I am firing Trevor Keene," Ethan declared. "I am firing Miller. And I am stripping you of your board seat for gross ethical negligence that threatens the bank's public reputation."
Miller, who was standing behind Victor, let out a pathetic whimpering sound and covered his face with his hands.
"You can't do that!" Victor stammered, panic finally breaking through his arrogant exterior. "That board seat has been in my family for twenty years!"
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"Then your family should have taught you how to act like a human being," Ethan said. He turned to Marcus. "Escort Mr. Vance and Mr. Miller out of this hospital. If they step foot on this floor again, have them arrested for trespassing."
Marcus stepped forward, his massive frame looming over the two men like a mountain. "Gentlemen. The door is that way."
