Chapter 8 - Shadows of the Founders
At 2:00 AM, Ethan sat behind the dark oak desk in his private office on the hotel's top floor. The city lights twinkled far below, but inside the room, the atmosphere was suffocatingly quiet.
Sterling walked in, placing a tablet on the desk. "The media storm is peaking, Mr. Caldwell. Board members Vance and Harrison have just called for an emergency session at 8:00 AM tomorrow. They claim your actions tonight violated the company's public ethics clause."
Ethan didn't even look at the tablet. He reached down and unlocked the bottom drawer of his desk, pulling out a faded, leather-bound black ledger with no label on the cover.
"Vance and Harrison," Ethan mused softly, turning the yellowed pages of the ledger. "They were hired by my father thirty years ago. They think they know how this company was built."
"Should I prepare the legal team to file an injunction against the board meeting?" Sterling asked.
"No," Ethan said, his voice dripping with terrifying calm. "Let them call the meeting. Tell Julian Langford and his wife that they are invited to attend as observers. Let them bring their press cameras to the lobby."
May you like
Sterling paused, looking at his boss with a mix of awe and caution. "You're walking directly into their trap, sir."
Ethan closed the leather ledger with a heavy thud. "A trap is only dangerous if the rat doesn't know who built the cage."
