Chapter 6 - The Reckoning
The morning of the emergency Moretti board meeting arrived. The grand conference hall on the top floor of Moretti Tower was packed with shareholders, news cameras, and board members.
Arthur Thorne sat at the head of the long oak table, looking like a king about to claim his crown. Beside him sat Vanessa, smirking behind her designer sunglasses.
“The evidence is absolute, ladies and gentlemen,” Arthur Thorne announced to the press and the board, gesturing to a projection screen on the wall. “Dante Moretti let an unvetted, criminal street girl into his inner sanctum. She stole our most sensitive research patents and tried to sell them. Dante’s gross negligence has compromised the financial security of this entire conglomerate. Under Section 4 of our corporate charter, I move for an immediate vote to strip Dante Moretti of his CEO position and reinstate control to Thorne Global!”
The room burst into loud whispers and murmurs of agreement.
Suddenly, the heavy double doors at the back of the conference room slammed open.
Dante Moretti stepped into the room. He wore a crisp double-breasted black suit, his expression unreadable, his stride calm and lethal. Behind him walked two federal agents in dark suits—and behind them walked me.
Vanessa gasped, rising slightly from her chair. “What is she doing here? She should be in a remand cell!”
Dante walked directly to the podium, ignoring Arthur Thorne completely. He placed a sleek black USB drive onto the table and plugged it into the main system console.
“You’re right about one thing, Arthur,” Dante’s voice cut through the noise like a razor blade. “A massive crime was committed involving the theft of medical patents. But you got the thief’s name wrong.”
Dante clicked a remote control. The projection screen changed instantly.
Instead of the fake log files framing me, the screen lit up with high-definition video footage from inside Dante’s private study. The date stamp read three nights ago. The footage clearly showed Marcus—my former restaurant manager—using a cloned keycard provided by Vanessa Thorne to break into Dante’s computer and initiate the file transfer.
The entire board gasped in unison.
“We arrested Marcus two hours ago,” Dante said coldly, turning his deadly gaze toward Arthur Thorne. “He signed a full confession implicating Vanessa Thorne and Arthur Thorne in framing Maya Lin, fabricating corporate espionage, and attempting to blackmail a board member.”
Arthur Thorne stood up, his face turning purple with rage. “This is a setup! That footage is fabricated!”
“The FBI cyber division disagrees,” Dante replied smoothly, gesturing to the federal agents behind him. “And while we’re on the subject of corporate crimes, let us discuss the offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands where Arthur Thorne has been laundering sixty million dollars stolen from pediatric patient funds over the last six years.”
A barrage of document scans, bank transfers, and wiretap transcripts flooded the giant screens. The press cameras went wild, flashes blinding the room.
Vanessa burst into hysterical tears, backing away as the federal agents stepped forward. “Dad! Do something! Tell them he’s lying!”
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Arthur Thorne sank back into his leather chair, his hands shaking violently as the agents slapped steel handcuffs onto his wrists. “You planned this,” Arthur whispered in horror, looking at Dante. “You let me file the charges... so I would seal my own arrest warrant in front of the press.”
“I told you three weeks ago, Arthur,” Dante said softly, leaning over the table until he was inches from the ruined tycoon. “Nobody touches Maya without losing everything.”
