Arrogant Manhattan Father Shocked When Disowned Daughter Exposes Fraud Scheme Collapsing Corrupt Empire Stripping Cruel Family Wealth To Settle Scores
CHAPTER 2
The heavy silence inside the seventy-fifth-floor boardroom of Aegis Ledger hung so thick you could hear the soft humming of the central climate control system.
My father, Richard Mercer, stood frozen in the doorway, his polished leather shoes rooted to the carpet while his jaw hung open in absolute, unadulterated shock.
Beside him, my mother, Eleanor, clutched her genuine crocodile-skin handbag against her chest, her pale face turning as white as the frosted glass walls behind her.
Chloe took one look at me sitting behind the massive walnut desk, let out a muffled sob, and buried her face in her mother's expensive wool coat sleeve.
"Emma...?" Richard croaked out, his arrogant voice cracking as he took a tentative, shaking step forward into the room. "Is... is this some kind of sick joke?"
"Do I look like I'm joking, Richard?" I asked, my voice dropping into a smooth, razor-sharp tone that resonated off the high glass windows.
I slowly stood up, smoothing the pristine lapels of my dark charcoal Tom Ford suit jacket, my posture rigid, commanding, and totally unshakeable.
Nadia stood directly behind my right shoulder, her hands folded neatly in front of her, holding a sleek digital tablet displaying the SEC evidence vault.
"You... you are the Chief Executive Officer of Aegis Ledger?" Eleanor gasped, her voice trembling violently as she stared at the diamond-encrusted watch gleaming on my wrist. "The twenty-four-year-old prodigy from the Forbes cover?"
"The very same 'pathetic fantasy' you told Chloe to forget about five years ago," I replied with a chilling, radiant smile that made Richard flinch.
Richard’s face flushed a dangerous, mottled crimson as he tried to regain his usual domineering authority, stepping up to the long marble conference table.
"Listen to me, young lady!" Richard barked, slamming his palm onto the table, though his fingers trembled so badly he could barely keep his grip. "We are your parents! You will speak to us with respect, and you will sign the buyout check right now!"
I didn't flinch. I didn't even blink.
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Instead, I casually reached down, picked up the thick red-stamped federal dossier, and dropped it onto the glass table directly in front of his face.
"Page twelve, Richard," I whispered softly. "The chapter where your forged invoices from the Port of Newark turn into federal wire fraud."
