Chapter 11 - Confrontation in the Boardroom
Julian’s face drained of all color. "You're lying! She’s making up stories to cover her own failure!"
Arthur Vance stepped onto the stage beside Lily. He raised his hand, and the massive projection screens that flanked the stage suddenly flickered to life.
Instead of the gala’s sponsor logos, the screens displayed high-definition security footage from two hours prior. The entire room watched in stunned silence as Julian Cross crept into the empty ballroom, pulled the chemical vial from his tuxedo, and methodically sprayed the main floral archway before giving a thumbs-up to Victoria Sterling near the service entrance.
Gasps of horror rippled through the high-society crowd.
"Did you really think," Arthur said, his voice dropping to a terrifying, icy calm that made the entire room hold its breath, "that I would host a five-million-dollar event without twenty-four-hour surveillance in every inch of this room?"
Julian backed away toward the doors, but two burly, armed Vance Global security officers blocked his exit, twisting his arms behind his back and forcing him to his knees.
Victoria began to tremble, backing away into the crowd. "Father... do something!"
Jonathan Sterling stepped forward, his face purple with fury. "This is an internal corporate dispute, Vance! You have no right to humiliate my family in front of the press! My investment firm owns forty percent of your debt bonds! I will bankrupt you by morning!"
"You won't bankrupt anyone, Jonathan," a new voice echoed through the grand ballroom.
The double doors at the main entrance swung open.
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Pushed in a sleek, motorized wheelchair by two private nurses, Eleanor Sterling entered the room. She was dressed in an elegant sapphire-blue gown, her skin glowing with restored health, her breathing steady and clear.
In her lap, she carried a heavy, weathered leather case bearing the original brass emblem of Sterling Bio-Pharma.
