Chapter 49
The banquet hall erupted in chaos as two male voices blared through the speakers.
"Mr. Sterling, if I wasn't lining your pockets, why would I replace premium mattresses with cheap knockoffs?" The voice dripped with venom. "That new manager brat discovered everything and fired me. Now I'm blacklisted across Crestview! You owe me!"
"Don't pretend this was all for my benefit." The second voice, unmistakably Damian Sterling's, held icy contempt. "Your kickbacks could last three lifetimes. Stop whining."
Every reporter's pen froze mid-sentence. The air crackled with scandal. Damian's knuckles whitened against the table edge, sweat beading on his forehead like morning dew.
"Who authorized this?!" His roar cut through the murmurs. "Kill the feed now!"
The audio cut abruptly, only for damning photographs to flood the projector screen. Images of Damian and Vincent Prescott entering luxury nightclubs, exchanging thick envelopes.
"You promised protection!" Vincent's recorded voice cracked with panic.
"I am protecting you," Damian's voice purred. "Deny everything and you'll walk away. But if you talk..." The unspoken threat hung heavier than the chandeliers.
Flashbulbs exploded like fireworks as journalists scrambled. Damian's face turned puce. "Fabrications! Deepfakes! This is character assassination!"
Then - BANG!
The double doors burst open. Two dozen suited officers with gold insignias formed a human corridor. The click of Italian leather heels silenced the room.
Nathan Blackwood's breath hitched as Dominic Kingsley strode forward, his prosecutor's badge gleaming like a blade. Every camera lens swiveled toward the arresting officer's sculpted jawline.
"Damian Sterling, CEO of Sterling Holdings." Dominic's baritone carried judicial finality. "You're under arrest for bribery and corporate fraud. Monarch Group has provided irrefutable evidence." He snapped his fingers. "Cuff him."
"Lies!" Damian thrashed against the officers. "I'll ruin whoever orchestrated this!"
The live broadcast captured every humiliating second - the twisted tie, the spittle flying from Damian's lips as they dragged him past flashing cameras.
[BREAKING: Sterling Empire Crumbles During Own Press Conference!]
[Monarch Group Vindicated - The Real Victims All Along!]
[That Prosecutor Though...Hubba Hubba!]
Oliver Sinclair clapped like a seal. "Game over for the Sterlings!"
"Calculated annihilation." Nathan's lips barely moved. His gaze tracked Dominic with laser intensity.
"Wait...you think Monarch staged this whole-"
"Obviously." Nathan's phone was already scanning Dominic's face through facial recognition. "Provoke Damian into throwing Vincent under the bus. Then drop the hammer with irrefutable proof."
The results flashed: DOMINIC KINGSLEY. CHIEF PROSECUTOR, CRESTVIEW DA'S OFFICE.
Nathan's thumb hovered over the screen. This was the man from the hospital. The one who'd stood guard over Evelyn. The spitting image of Sebastian Kingsley.
His stomach twisted. Just how deep did the Kingsley rabbit hole go?