Chapter 12 - The Rival
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With the financial strike successfully executed, I needed to ensure Richard couldn't use his power and influence to recover the funds or silence me. I needed to blow up his corporate stronghold from the inside.
I needed Arthur Vance.
Arthur was Richard’s father and the original founder of Horizon Prime. He was a ruthless, old-school real estate tycoon who had been unceremoniously forced out of his own company three years ago in a vicious boardroom coup orchestrated by Richard. Arthur despised his son, living in bitter exile in a massive penthouse overlooking Central Park.
I arrived at Arthur’s residence unannounced at 2:00 PM. His private security tried to turn me away, but I handed the guard a sealed envelope containing a single printout of the Cayman Island trust documents.
“Tell Arthur his daughter-in-law has the weapon he’s been looking for,” I instructed the guard.
Five minutes later, I was sitting in Arthur’s opulent, smoke-filled study. The old man sat behind a massive oak desk, staring at the document I had provided, a predatory gleam in his faded blue eyes.
“He’s embezzling from the company to fund a bastard child and a mistress in Connecticut,” Arthur murmured, a dark, terrifying chuckle escaping his lips. “I always knew Richard was arrogant, but I didn't think he was this stupid.”
“He got comfortable, Arthur,” I said, sitting perfectly upright in the leather chair. “He assumed he controlled the board, the company, and his wife. He was wrong on all counts.”
Arthur looked up at me, reassessing the quiet woman he had largely ignored at family Thanksgiving dinners.
“You diverted the funds,” Arthur deduced, his sharp mind connecting the dots. “You took the eight million he tried to hide today.”
“I secured my daughter’s inheritance,” I corrected smoothly. “And I left a digital trail that proves Richard authorized the theft. But I need your help to execute the final blow. I want you to call an emergency meeting of the Horizon Prime board of directors for tomorrow afternoon.”
“A hostile takeover,” Arthur smiled, leaning forward, resting his hands on his silver-tipped cane. “You hand me the evidence to destroy his reputation, and I use the board to strip him of his CEO title, his shares, and his power.”
“Exactly,” I nodded. “You get your company back. And I get to watch him lose everything.”
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Arthur poured two glasses of expensive Scotch, sliding one across the desk toward me.
“To a very profitable divorce, Victoria,” Arthur toasted, his eyes burning with vindictive anticipation.
