Chapter 5 - The Saboteur
Z
The victory over Victoria was swift and absolute. Facing twenty years in a British prison for corporate extortion and conspiracy, she surrendered unconditionally. By noon the following day, both she and Sebastian had signed complete, irrevocable waivers waiving any right to contest Arthur’s estate, trading their claims for Chloe’s agreement not to push for maximum sentencing. Victoria was released on bail, her legal career in absolute tatters, while Sebastian fled to South America to hide from his creditors.
Only Julian remained.
Unlike his siblings, Julian didn't throw tantrums or make messy public threats. He went completely silent. He resigned from his venture capital firm, vacated his office, and vanished from the public eye. But his silence was far more terrifying than Victoria’s loud arrogance.
A month passed. The chaos subsided, and Chloe finally took her seat as the official Chairwoman of Vance Global Logistics.
I joined her at the corporate headquarters in the heart of London’s financial district—a towering glass skyscraper overlooking the Gherkin. Chloe had insisted on bringing me along as her personal advisor, refusing to leave me alone in the Mayfair penthouse. She had bought me a sleek charcoal suit, and for the first time in my life, I wasn't cleaning executive offices—I was sitting in them.
"The quarterly board meeting is in thirty minutes, Mrs. Vance," Chloe’s head assistant, an efficient young man named Marcus, announced as he placed a tablet on her desk. "All senior executives are present, including the regional directors from Rotterdam, Singapore, and Baltimore."
Chloe nodded, scanning the agenda. "How is the board feeling, Marcus?"
Marcus hesitated. "Frankly... nervous. Julian Vance still holds a seat on the board through his minor individual shares. He hasn't attended a meeting in weeks, but his proxy, Director Sterling—not Thomas Sterling, but his second cousin, Richard Sterling—has been sowing doubt among the shareholders. They think you're going to sell off the fleet."
"I'm not selling anything," Chloe said firmly. "Arthur wanted Vance Logistics to expand its green-energy automated fleet. That’s the future of shipping, and that’s what we’re presenting today."
We walked down the long carpeted hallway toward the main boardroom. The double doors opened, revealing a magnificent room with a glass table seating twenty high-ranking executives. The atmosphere was thick with tension. Old men in tailored suits watched Chloe with skeptical, cold eyes as she took her seat at the head of the table.
I sat in the observer's chair behind her, my heart beating fast.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," Chloe began, her voice ringing clear and authoritative through the room. "Today, we review our Q3 financial performance and vote on 'Project Horizon'—our transition toward zero-emission cargo vessels."
Before she could continue, the door at the far end of the boardroom clicked open.
Julian Vance walked in.
He looked strikingly different. He had shaved his beard, his hair was slicked back perfectly, and he wore a flawless bespoke navy suit. But his eyes—normally calculating and cool—were bloodshot and burning with a terrifying, unhinged intensity.
"Apologies for being late, Chairwoman," Julian said, his voice dripping with venomous sarcasm. He walked over and sat in the vacant chair directly opposite Chloe.
The entire room went dead quiet.
"Julian," Chloe said smoothly, not letting her surprise show. "We didn't expect you today."
"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Julian smiled—a hollow, eerie smile. "After all, it’s not every day a twenty-two-year-old nurse explains how to run an international shipping empire to men who have spent forty years in the industry."
A few older board members shuffled uncomfortably, but no one spoke up.
Chloe didn't take the bait. "If you have specific objections to Project Horizon, Julian, you may raise them during the open floor segment."
"Oh, I don't have objections to the project," Julian said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. "I have objections to you. Specifically, your gross negligence regarding company security."
Chloe frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Julian pulled a flash drive from his pocket and tossed it onto the center of the glass table. "Ten minutes ago, an automated cyber-attack breached Vance Logistics’ primary server in Rotterdam. The encryption keys for our entire North Atlantic shipping manifest—over two billion dollars worth of cargo currently at sea—have been locked by ransomware."
Murmurs of panic erupted around the table. Executives sat up, pulling out their phones, shouting at their assistants.
"That's impossible," Chloe stood up. "Our cybersecurity framework was updated last week!"
"It was updated," Julian sneered, standing up to match her height. "By a third-party cybersecurity firm that you personally approved two weeks ago, Chloe. A firm called Aegis Tech. What you failed to realize—because you're a clueless little girl playing business—is that Aegis Tech is a shell company registered in Panama."
Chloe’s face paled slightly. "I signed that contract on the direct recommendation of the IT Risk Committee—"
"A committee led by people you failed to vet!" Julian interrupted, shouting over her, his voice booming through the room. "Right now, three hundred cargo ships are sitting blind in the middle of the ocean. Port authorities in Hamburg, New York, and Shanghai are refusing to let our ships dock because the clearance manifests are corrupted. We are losing five million dollars every single hour!"
The boardroom exploded into absolute chaos. Shareholders were standing up, yelling, demanding answers.
"Silence!" Chloe commanded, slamming her hand on the table. Her voice cut through the noise, demanding respect. She turned her sharp gaze onto Julian. "If Aegis Tech is a Panamanian shell company, Julian... how did you know about the breach ten minutes before our network operations center even flagged it?"
Julian’s eerie smile broadened. "Because as a responsible board member, I keep tabs on our vulnerabilities. And unlike you, I actually know how to fix it."
Julian reached into his jacket and pulled out a single sheet of paper, sliding it across the glass.
"That is a resolution," Julian declared loudly to the entire board. "An emergency motion to strip the Chairwoman of executive authority due to gross operational incompetence, and transfer temporary CEO powers to me. I have the decryption key in my possession—provided to me by an anonymous white-hat hacker group. Vote for this resolution, make me temporary CEO, and I will restore the entire network within five minutes."
It was a masterclass in corporate extortion. Julian had manufactured the crisis, sabotaged the company’s servers, and was now holding the entire empire hostage in front of the board. If Chloe refused to step down, the company would lose hundreds of millions of dollars in a single day, destroying its stock value and prompting a shareholder lawsuit that would ruin her forever. If she agreed, Julian would regain control of Vance Logistics and systematically strip her of her shares.
The board members looked at Chloe, their eyes filled with desperation and panic.
"We have to vote, Mrs. Vance!" Director Sterling shouted. "We're losing millions every minute! Sign the transfer!"
"Do it, Chloe," Julian whispered across the table, his eyes gleaming with malicious triumph. "Save the company. Step down... like the little nurse you are."
May you like
I watched my daughter from behind. Her hands were clenched into tight fists at her sides. She was cornered. Julian had trapped her in a room full of panicked men who were ready to throw her to the wolves to save their own money.
Chloe slowly reached out and picked up the paper. She looked down at the resolution that would end her reign before it had even truly begun.
