Chapter 10 - The Secret Sealed in Iron
The smug smile on Julian Langford’s face vanished instantly. Vance’s hands began to tremble as he stared at the screen.
"What you are looking at," Ethan announced, his voice dropping an octave, "is the complete record of Langford Capital’s illegal short-selling scheme, executed with insider information provided directly by Vance and Harrison."
"This is libel!" Vance stammered, standing up so fast his leather chair rolled back into the glass wall. "This is completely fabricated!"
"It's not," Sterling said flatly, stepping forward with two uniformed federal agents who walked silently through the boardroom doors. "The Department of Justice received these files two hours ago. Federal warrants have already been issued."
Victoria gasped, turning to her husband in horror as the agents walked straight toward Julian and Vance. Julian tried to stand, but an agent firmly placed a hand on his shoulder, sliding silver handcuffs from his belt.
"You set us up..." Victoria whispered, her voice cracking as she stared at Ethan in absolute terror. "Last night... at the gala... you let me spill that drink on you on purpose!"
Ethan took three slow, deliberate steps toward Victoria. He leaned down slightly, his clear blue eyes locking onto hers with an icy intensity that made her shrink back into her chair.
"I didn't set you up, Victoria," Ethan murmured softly. "You chose to be arrogant. I simply allowed you to show the world who you really were."
As Julian and Vance were led out of the boardroom in handcuffs, Victoria scrambled to her feet, clutching her designer bag, completely ruined in front of the city's elite. She looked at Ethan, her mouth moving, but no words came out. She turned and fled down the hallway, her high heels clicking frantically against the floor.
The remaining board members sat in absolute, terrified silence, staring at Ethan as he smoothly walked to the head of the table and took his seat.
Sterling stepped up beside him, quietly leaning down to hand Ethan a sealed thick manila envelope stamped with an old wax seal.
"This arrived at the front desk five minutes ago, sir," Sterling whispered. "From Europe. It was delivered by a private courier."
Ethan broke the wax seal and slid out a single black-and-white photograph. It showed an old iron key lying inside an ancient stone vault beneath a building that looked remarkably like the hotel itself. On the back of the photograph was a handwritten message:
The key is still where you hid it. But they know where to look now.
May you like
Ethan’s blue eyes narrowed slightly. He did not smile. He slowly folded the photograph, placed it inside his inner jacket pocket, and looked up at the silent board members.
"Meeting adjourned," Ethan said softly.
