The nine-year-old boy looked at his father in front of the entire ballroom and asked eight words that stopped the party cold.

Forty-eight hours after the gala arrest, the headquarters of Vance Global Logistics was operating in a state of total siege.

The seventy-story glass tower in downtown Chicago was surrounded by news vans, federal auditors, and anxious board members demanding an emergency shareholder meeting.

Inside the executive boardroom on the top floor, fifteen senior directors sat around a long black granite table, whispering nervously as they reviewed printed copies of the financial dossiers leaked during the gala.

The double frosted-glass doors pushed open.

Elena walked in, wearing a sharp charcoal-grey business suit, flanked by her lead corporate attorney, Marcus Vance—Julian’s estranged younger brother who had resigned from the board four years ago in protest of Julian’s financial management.

Elena took her seat at the head of the table—the seat Julian had occupied for over a decade.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Elena said calmly, setting her tablet flat on the granite surface. “As you are aware, Julian Vance and Chloe Sterling are currently held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center pending federal arraignment.”

A senior board member, Arthur Sterling—who was also Chloe’s uncle—cleared his throat aggressively. “Elena, this is an unprecedented tragedy, but you have no corporate standing here. You are not an officer of Vance Global. You hold no voting equity under the original foundation charter.”

Marcus Vance leaned forward, sliding a gold-embossed leather folder onto the center of the table.

“Read section 14B of the foundation charter, Arthur,” Marcus stated smoothly. “In the event that the CEO is indicted on felony charges involving the fraudulent conversion of marital equity, thirty-five percent of the voting shares held in the Family Trust immediately revert to the primary non-indicted spouse.”

Arthur opened the folder, his eyes rapidly scanning the fine print. His face grew progressively paler.

“Furthermore,” Elena added, her voice dropping into an unyielding, authoritative tone, “my son Leo holds fifteen percent of the technical infrastructure shares granted to him upon the patent registration of Vance’s proprietary tracking software in 2022.”

Combined, Elena and Leo held fifty percent of the total voting equity in the corporation.