Chapter 5 - Shadows at the Gates
Daniel held the phone tightly against his ear,
his pulse pounding violently against his ribs.
“Stay away from this property,
Arthur,”
Daniel said,
his tone cold and laced with steel.
“Or I will have the police arrest you the moment you step foot off the road.”
A dry,
humorless laugh came through the speaker.
“The police are currently busy processing your mother,”
Arthur replied smoothly,
his voice filled with arrogant composure.
“And by the time they finish,
I will have finalized the transfer of the Mercer holding assets.”
“You have nothing,”
Daniel shot back,
glancing toward Elena who stood watching him intently.
“You took empty backup drives from my safe tonight.”
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line,
followed by a slow,
deliberate sigh.
“Did I?”
Arthur murmured softly.
“Check the bottom shelf of your vault,
Daniel.”
“The blue folder wasn’t what I was after,”
Arthur continued,
his voice dropping into a sinister register.
“I came for the original stock certificates signed by your grandfather.”
Daniel’s face drained of color as he turned his gaze back toward the open safe in the corner.
He rushed across the room,
dropping to his knees before the open metal door.
He reached deep into the lowest compartment,
feeling around in the dark recess.
His hands found nothing but dusty,
empty velvet lining.
The physical paper certificates that held controlling voting rights for Mercer Enterprises were missing.
“Without those papers,”
Arthur sneered through the phone,
“you are merely a minority shareholder in your own company.”
“And at nine o’clock tomorrow morning,”
Arthur added,
“the board will convene to officially appoint me as chief executive officer.”
“You won’t get away with this,”
Daniel gritted out,
his fingers tightening into fists.
“I have Clara’s records,”
he said,
taking a calculated risk.
The silence on the line was immediate and absolute,
stretching out for several long,
tense seconds.
“Clara is dead,”
Arthur snapped,
his smooth voice finally losing its polished composure.
“And whatever fairy tales her nanny told you are useless in a court of law.”
“We will see about that tomorrow,”
Daniel said,
and ended the call instantly.
He stood up slowly,
looking at Elena with a grim expression.
“He has the original stock certificates,”
Daniel said quietly.
May you like
“If he presents them to the board tomorrow morning,
he takes full operational control of everything my father built.”
