"No," Elena said, standing up and grabbing his arm. "You're not going to touch him. We need him to feel safe."
We need Sterling to believe the lie. Why? Because, Elena said, her eyes gleaming with a strategy that was bordering on diabolical. If Sterling thinks dropping the stock price will trigger a defense mechanism, he's going to spend the next two days buying everything he can to keep the price up. He's going to overlever himself. He's going to drain his cash reserves to artificially inflate Thorne Capital.
Julian realized what she was saying. A slow, incredulous smile spread across his face. He's going to bankrupt himself trying to buy a company he thinks is protected, Julian said. "Exactly." Elena nodded.
And when the board meeting happens on Friday, when he's fully extended with no cash left, we pull the rug out. Julian looked at her with pure awe. "You are dangerous, Elena Vance." "I told you," she said, picking up her wine glass. "I used to be you. Only better."
Friday arrived with a sky the color of bruised iron. The atmosphere inside the Thorne Capital boardroom was electric. Fifty people were crammed into the room. Board members, major shareholders, lawyers, and the press. At the head of the table sat Marcus Sterling.
He looked triumphant, leaning back in Julian's chair as if he already owned it. Braden Cole sat to his right, looking smug and avoiding Julian's gaze. Julian sat at the side, looking tired, defeated. He wore a simple black suit, his head bowed. To the onlookers, he looked like a man preparing for his execution. Elena was nowhere to be seen.
"Shall we begin?" Sterling announced, his voice booming. We are here to vote on motion 24B, a vote of no confidence in the current CEO, Julian Thorne, and the immediate restructuring of the company under Sterling Global Management. "Seconded," Braden Cole said quickly. Julian, Sterling said, flashing a shark-like grin.
Do you have any final words before we strip you of your legacy? Perhaps another joke from your waitress? The room tittered nervously. Julian slowly stood up. He buttoned his jacket.
He looked at Braden, then at Sterling. "Actually, Marcus," Julian said, his voice steady. I do have a few words, but they aren't mine. Julian pressed a button on the console in front of him. The massive screens covering the north wall flickered to life, but instead of a PowerPoint presentation, the screens went black.
Then a single line of green text appeared. Accessing archive. Ghost of Liberty Street. Decryption. Key. Vengeance.
The double doors at the back of the room swung open. Elena Vance walked in. She wasn't wearing a waitress uniform. She wasn't wearing the borrowed suit. She was wearing a white bespoke dress that made her look like an avenging angel.
She carried a slim silver laptop. "You asked for the waitress, Marcus," Elena said, her voice projecting clearly across the silent room. "Here I am." Sterling laughed, though it sounded strained. This is pathetic, Julian.
Bringing your mistress to beg for mercy. Elena ignored him. She walked to the podium, plugged in her laptop, and looked at the board members. Ladies and gentlemen of the board, Elena said, You are being asked to vote for a merger with Sterling Global. You are being told that Sterling Global is a solvent, powerful partner.
That is a lie. Get her out of here. Sterling shouted, standing up. Security!
"Sit down, Marcus!" Julian barked. The command was so forceful that Sterling actually hesitated.
5 years ago, Elena continued, typing a command. Marcus Sterling framed an analyst for embezzlement to cover his own crimes. That analyst was me. I spent five years in the shadows, waiting, watching, and keeping a backdoor key to his servers. On the giant screen, documents began to scroll.
Not just spreadsheets, emails, chats, bank transfers. These are wire transfers from the last 48 hours. Elena narrated. Sterling has been aggressively buying Thorne Capital stock to prevent a poison pill defense. A defense that doesn't exist.
The room gasped. He has drained Sterling Global's liquidity to zero. Elena said he has leveraged his own company's assets to buy yours at an inflated price. He is currently exposed to the tune of $4 billion.
Sterling's face turned purple. He lunged toward Braden. You said there was a poison pill. You swore it. Braden shrank back, terrified.
She She sent the memo. It looked real. And here is the interesting part, Elena said, her fingers flying across the keys. Because Sterling Global is now technically insolvent, their automated trading algorithms are about to trigger a liquidation sale to cover their margin calls. "No," Sterling whispered.
"Stop. You can't." "I built your algorithms, Marcus," Elena said coldly. I know exactly where the kill switch is, and I know exactly how to trigger it. She hit enter.
The screen split. On the left was the live feed of Sterling Global stock price. It was at $140 a share, then $135, then $110, then $80. It was a free fall, a red line plummeting straight down. Phones in the room started ringing wildly.
The board members were checking their tablets, shouting orders to their brokers. "My stock! Sterling screamed, watching his net worth evaporate in seconds. "Stop it. Stop the program.
I can't, Elena said calmly. It's a cascading failure. You overleveraged yourself based on false insider information provided by Braden Cole. That is illegal, by the way. Corporate espionage, market manipulation.
She pointed to the screen where a new window popped up, a video file. It was grainy footage from a hidden camera in Julian's office, which Elena had installed with Julian's permission the night before. It showed Braden Cole photographing confidential documents. "That's a felony, Braden," Julian said from his seat. Braden put his head in his hands and sobbed.
Sterling looked around the room. His empire was crumbling in real time. The board members were looking at him, not with respect, but with horror. "You..." Sterling hissed, advancing on Elena.
I'll kill you. He rushed the podium. Julian was over the table in a second. He tackled Sterling midstride, slamming him into the carpet. Security guards burst into the room, pulling the two men apart.
Julian stood up, adjusting his cuffs. He looked down at Sterling, who was panting, red-faced, and ruined. "Get him out of my building," Julian said. And call the FBI. I think they'll be very interested in the Cayman accounts Ms. Vance just uploaded to their tipline.
As the guards dragged a screaming Marcus Sterling and a weeping Braden Cole out of the room, silence returned. The stock chart on the screen had bottomed out. Sterling Global was a penny stock. Thorne Capital, however, was untouched. Julian turned to the stunned board members.
The motion on the table is a vote of no confidence, Julian said. "All in favor? Not a single hand went up. "All opposed? Every hand raised.