Chapter 5 - The Embezzlement Trap
Elliot slammed both palms onto the table, standing up so abruptly his chair screeched against the floor. "Even if he holds the equity, he lacks the cause to remove me as CEO! I have an ironclad, five-year executive employment contract!"
"Executive contracts are instantly rendered null and void in cases involving gross felony misconduct and corporate theft," Grayson said, speaking for the first time. His deep voice carried a calm, icy authority that stunned the room—a terrifying contrast to the reckless youth everyone remembered.
Grayson leaned forward, resting his forearms on the polished mahogany. "Over the last six months, Elliot, while you were so busy paying off corrupt doctors in Vermont to hide my wife and child, you got extraordinarily sloppy."
Grayson unzipped a thick black binder he had brought into the room.
"Did you really believe I was just idling around racing cars and wasting my life these past three years?" Grayson asked, a razor-thin smile touching his lips. "The moment I got clean, I founded an independent forensic accounting firm. My team has been auditing Sterling Enterprise's public SEC filings line by line for half a year. You didn't just wire money to Vermont, Elliot. You've been systematically bleeding this company dry, siphoning $1.2 million every month into a offshore shell entity registered as Apex Logistics."
Elliot’s lead lawyer slowly turned his head to look at his client, his face draining of color. "Elliot... tell me that isn't true."
Elliot couldn't utter a word. His breathing turned shallow and frantic as sweat glistened on his forehead.
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"Apex Logistics isn't a vendor, is it, Elliot?" Grayson continued, his voice echoing through the silent boardroom. "It was your private exit vault. You knew my father's contingency clause would eventually trigger, so you decided to rob the company blind before I could ever claim my seat."
At that exact moment, the heavy double doors at the back of the boardroom clicked open. Two senior investigators from the NYPD Financial Crimes Division entered, accompanied by uniformed officers.
