Chapter 73: The End Of The Devil’s Enemy?
At 7:30 AM, Julian Montgomery sat behind the sprawling glass desk of his own private investment firm across town, a fresh cup of espresso steaming beside him. His phone buzzed violently against the marble surface.
He picked it up, sighing as Vivian’s caller ID flashed across the screen.
"Julian!" Vivian’s voice cracked through the speaker, frantic and strained. "Thank God you picked up! You have to talk to Damian right now. He’s gone completely insane!"
Julian leaned back in his leather chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Vivian, take a breath..."
"No! He’s locked my father out of the emergency board meeting at Sterling Global this morning!"
She shrieked, her usual composure completely shattered.
"Anastasia is poisoning his mind against us! She staged that whole fight in the washroom, Julian! She’s trying to destroy my family, and Damian is letting her! You’ve known us since university... you know how much my family has backed his ventures! Talk to him before he ruins everything!"
Julian stared out his office window at the city skyline. A heavy, conflicted look settled over his sharp features.
They had been in the same inner circle since their university days. He had watched Damian, Vivian, and Valerie navigate elite high-society together long before Anastasia ever entered the picture.
Vivian had been a constant fixture in their world, and he had built his own business empire right alongside them. But he had also watched Vivian’s subtle, venomous manipulation over the years... and he knew Damian’s cold, absolute boundary when it came to his empire.
"I’ll talk to him, Viv," Julian lied smoothly, his voice soft and deceptively reassuring. "Don’t worry about anything. Just let me handle it."
"Thank you," she sobbed softly. "Please, Julian... don’t let him do this."
Julian hung up the phone and set it facedown on his desk. He leaned back, staring into the dark screen with a grim, weary expression.
You brought this on yourself, Vivian, he thought quietly. Damian gave you years to back off. You chose to burn down the house.
________________________
By 8:45 AM, the atmosphere on the top floor of Sterling Global was suffocatingly tense.
Ana arrived at the office in a sleek, cream-colored designer suit that Damian’s team had delivered to the penthouse earlier that morning. She moved through the hallways like a ghost, ignoring the quiet whispers of the employees.
Her heart beat rapidly against her ribs, her mind still racing with the cryptic warnings Damian had given her in the dark the night before.
When she reached the grand executive wing, she found Harrison and Vivian Stark practically screaming at the security guards posted outside the double doors of the boardroom.
"Get your hands off me!" Harrison spat, shoving a guard’s arm away. "I am a major shareholder! You cannot deny me entry to a board meeting!"
"Mr. Stark, orders have been issued directly from Mr. Sterling..."
"Move aside!" Vivian demanded, her face pale beneath heavy makeup trying to cover her bruised jaw.
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors opened from the inside.
Damian stood in the doorway, impeccably tailored in a dark charcoal suit. His broad frame commanded the entire hallway, his obsidian eyes completely devoid of warmth.
Behind him sat the board of directors, dead silent around the long marble table.
"Let them in," Damian commanded, his voice a low, lethal purr.
Harrison adjusted his suit jacket, sneering as he strode past the guards, with Vivian following closely behind. She cast a triumphant, hateful glare at Ana, who stood near Clara at the end of the hall.
"Damian, this exclusion is an absolute breach of corporate governance!" Harrison barked, taking a step toward the head of the table. "I demand to know why my voting block was omitted from the agenda!"
Damian casually walked to the head of the table, resting his hands on the leather back of his chair. He didn’t offer Harrison a seat.
"Your voting block is no longer relevant, Harrison," Damian said calmly.
Harrison scoffed. "Don’t be ridiculous! I hold fifteen percent of equity shares in this company! Combined with Richard Abernathy’s proxy..."
"Richard Abernathy surrendered his proxy to me at six o’clock this morning," Damian interrupted smoothly, sliding a signed legal document across the marble surface.
Harrison froze, his jaw dropping as he stared at the paper.
"And as for your fifteen percent..."
Damian picked up a thick black folder, tossing it onto the center of the table with a heavy thud.
"These are the forensic audit records detailing six offshore shell accounts registered under the Stark Holding Group. Over the past three years, you and your daughter have siphoned twenty-two million dollars directly out of Sterling Global’s Public Relations and marketing allocation."
The room erupted into shocked gasps from the board members.
Vivian went deathly pale. "That’s... that’s a lie! It’s forged!"
"The federal authorities received a duplicate copy thirty minutes ago," Damian continued, ignoring her completely, his voice like iron. "By unanimous board vote, Harrison Stark is stripped of his board seat and voting rights, effective immediately. Assets tied to your shares are frozen under criminal investigation."
"You bastard!" Harrison roared, his face turning dark purple as he lunged forward, but security guards instantly seized his arms, pinning him back. "You set us up!"
Damian finally turned his gaze to Vivian. His eyes narrowed into black ice, a terrifying, predatory stillness washing over him.
"As for you, Miss Stark..." Damian purred dangerously, stepping closer until his shadow completely engulfed her trembling frame. "Your employment as Head of PR is terminated. You are barred from setting foot on any property owned by Sterling Global."
"Damian, please!" Vivian wept, throwing away her pride, her voice breaking into hysterical shrieks as the guards grabbed her arms. "You can’t do this to me! After everything we’ve been through?! You’re ruining us over her?!"
"You brought my deceased child into your sick games, Vivian," Damian whispered, his baritone dropping so low only she could hear it, sending a violent shiver of pure terror down her spine. "I didn’t just ruin you. I have erased you."
"Drag them out," Damian ordered coldly, turning his back on them.
The entire floor watched in stunned silence as Harrison and Vivian Stark were forcibly dragged down the corridor by security, kicking and screaming as their empire crumbled to absolute dust.
Ana stood frozen near the glass wall, her pulse hammering. She looked at Damian... standing tall at the head of the boardroom, ruthless, unstoppable, and completely terrifying.
He slowly turned his head, his obsidian eyes locking onto hers through the open doorway.