Chapter 14 - The Sovereign Clause
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Victor Sterling reached into his dark coat and pulled out a thick parchment document bound with gold thread.
"In 1994, when your father and I formed the holding corporation for Whitmore Freight, we signed a Sovereign Clause," Victor explained, holding up the document. "It states that if the majority shareholder is found guilty of gross corporate malfeasance, the voting rights automatically revert to the surviving co-founder."
"My father is dead," I said firmly. "He can't be found guilty of anything."
"Your father isn't the one being audited, Clara," Victor smiled wolfishly, his dark eyes sparkling with sadistic delight. "Evan was the CEO for the last six years. And Evan signed off on $2.8 million in fraudulent wire transfers to Apex Events."
Evan gasped from the floor. "I... I didn't know!"
"Ignorance is not a legal defense, my boy," Victor scoffed. "As of midnight, the board has legally removed Evan for fraud. Which means the Sovereign Clause has been triggered. The seventy-two percent voting shares no longer belong to you, Clara. They belong to me."
The two SEC agents stepped forward, aiming their handguns directly at Victor's chest. "Mr. Sterling, drop the documents and put your hands behind your head! You are under arrest for attempted federal wire fraud!"
Victor didn't even flinch. He simply snapped his fingers.
From the dark corridor behind him, four heavily armed private security operators stepped into the light, wearing tactical gear and carrying submachine guns aimed directly at the federal agents.
"I suggest your officers lower their weapons," Victor purred smoothly. "I control the security grid, the power grid, and the physical exits of this building. Nobody leaves this basement until the share transfer is signed."
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Naomi stepped down the stairs, holding her tablet tightly. "You can't force a share transfer under gunpoint, Sterling! It's completely illegal!"
"In a court of law, yes," Victor agreed softly. "But by tomorrow morning, when news breaks that Clara Whitmore died in a tragic electrical fire inside her own server room, the trust will default to the surviving founder anyway. I am simply expediting the process."
