Chapter 7 - The Boardroom Resurrection
The seventy-second floor of the Sterling Tower hummed with corporate anxiety.
The emergency board meeting had been called by Richard Sterling on forty-eight hours' notice. The agenda was simple: formalize the liquidation of the remaining subsidiary assets, declare the Sterling estate officially settled, and transfer the entirety of the remaining ten-billion-dollar trust into Richard’s private offshore accounts.
Richard stood at the head of the mahogany conference table, tapping his gold Rolex against the polished wood as he addressed the nervous board members.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Richard said, putting on his best grieving-uncle expression. "We have all mourned the tragic loss of my brother Arthur and my dear niece Cassandra. It is time for this company to move forward. I move that we approve the final asset transfer and close the estate."
He raised his fountain pen, looking around the room for nods of agreement. Several board members, intimidated by Richard’s ruthless consolidation of power, slowly raised their hands to vote in favor.
"I object," a calm, crystal-clear voice echoed from the double doors at the back of the boardroom.
Richard froze, his pen hovering inches above the paper.
The heavy mahogany doors slowly swung open.
Stepping into the bright, sunlit boardroom wasn't a ghost. It was Cassandra Sterling.
She walked with an absolute, unshakeable grace, her heels clicking rhythmically against the Italian marble floor. Behind her walked Dante Serrano, his hands in his pockets, flanked by two armed security guards who immediately positioned themselves beside the exits.
The color drained entirely from Richard Sterling's face. He dropped his pen, staggering backward against the projection screen until his knees buckled.
"C... Cassandra?" Richard choked out, his voice a pathetic, trembling squeak. "No... that's impossible. You're dead. The boat... the ocean..."
May you like
Cassandra stopped ten feet from the head of the table. She looked around at the stunned faces of the board members—many of whom had watched her grow up from a little girl running through these very hallways.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Uncle Richard," Cassandra said, her voice cutting through the silent room like a razor blade. "But it turns out the Sterling family is very difficult to drown."
