The boardroom of Sterling Enterprises had never felt more like a terrifying throne room than it did on this crisp Monday morning.
At exactly ten o'clock, the atmosphere inside the massive space was thick, suffocating, and heavy with the scent of expensive Italian leather, fresh hot espresso, and the distinct, metallic taste of impending corporate ruin. Wall Street had opened only an hour ago, and the Vance Group’s stock ticker on the digital wall monitors was already displaying a continuous, rapid cascade of bleeding red percentages.
The public, chaotic arrest of Arthur Vance for corporate arson had triggered a massive, unrestricted investor panic, forcing the once untouchable family company into emergency liquidation.
For nearly four long decades, the proud, old money board members
