Chapter 16 - The Purge Begins
|
The vote was unanimous.
As the reality set in, Warren Caldwell collapsed back into his leather chair, clutching his chest. Grant rushed to his father's side, screaming at the board members, calling them traitors and cowards.
Lena sat perfectly still, watching the men who had tortured her squirm in the trap she had built.
"You think this is over, you little bitch?" Warren gasped, pointing a shaking finger at her. "I have friends in Washington! Charles Pike will have federal judges throw these audits out by tomorrow morning!"
Right on cue, Matthew Kane’s phone buzzed. He checked the screen, smiled, and placed the phone face-up on the boardroom table.
It was a live news broadcast from a major cable network.
The headline running across the bottom of the screen read in bold, red letters: PROMINENT LOBBYIST CHARLES PIKE ARRESTED AT DULLES AIRPORT ON RACKETEERING CHARGES.
The footage showed Charles Pike, Veronica’s father, being handcuffed by FBI agents on the tarmac next to a private jet, trying to flee the country.
"It seems your friends in Washington are a bit tied up, Warren," Lena said, her voice dripping with venom.
Grant stared at the screen, his entire world crumbling into dust. He looked at Lena, tears of genuine terror streaming down his face.
"Lena, please," Grant begged, abandoning his father and dropping to his knees beside her wheelchair. "I didn't know about any of this. The fraud, the bribes. My dad ran everything! I’m innocent! You have to believe me!"
Lena looked down at the man who had shoved her down a flight of stairs and locked her in the dark.
"You were perfectly happy to spend the money, Grant," she said softly. "You were perfectly happy to use the power. And you were perfectly happy to break my bones when you thought I couldn't fight back."
She gestured to Marcus.
"Remove them," Lena ordered.
May you like
Security guards—men whose paychecks were now signed by Lena’s holding company—stepped forward and grabbed Grant and Warren by the arms, dragging the former kings out of their own castle.
But Lena wasn't finished. She still had one final secret to reveal.
