Chapter 18 - The Last Audit
The final chapter of the Apex Capital scandal was written in a quiet, sunlit conference room on the thirty-second floor of the U.S. District Attorney’s office in downtown Dallas. Federal prosecutors, regulatory officials, and forensic auditors gathered to sign off on the final asset forfeiture and liquidation agreement.
I didn't fly in from Zurich for this meeting; I didn't need to waste my time. I attended via a secure, high-definition holographic video link that projected my life-sized image directly into the center of the conference room table.
Richard Vance, former CEO of Apex Capital, sat at the defense table in a wrinkled orange jumpsuit, flanked by two federal marshals. His trial had ended three days earlier with a guilty verdict on all forty counts of securities fraud, racketeering, and corporate espionage, resulting in a mandatory twenty-five-year federal sentence.
“Mrs. Rowan,” the federal prosecutor said, nodding toward my projected image. “We have finalized the redistribution of Apex Capital’s remaining assets. Pursuant to the federal RICO settlement and your majority stakeholder claims, ninety percent of their liquidated portfolio has been transferred directly into Aethelgard Global Enterprises.”
“Thank you, Counsel,” I replied smoothly, my voice crisp and clear in the Dallas conference room. “Ensure that the remaining ten percent is placed into the Arthur Sterling Foundation for urban youth education in Texas.”
Richard Vance raised his head, staring at my holographic projection with eyes filled with venom and disbelief. “You destroyed us,” Richard rasped, his voice cracking. “You dismantled a two-billion-dollar corporation just to prove a point.”
I looked down at him through the holographic feed, my expression completely impassive.
“I didn't destroy you, Richard,” I said quietly. “You destroyed yourselves the moment you believed integrity was optional and that loyalty could be bought with stolen money. I simply enforced the law.”
Richard lowered his head back onto his chest, defeated, as the marshals grabbed his arms and hoisted him up from his chair, pulling him backward out of the conference room doors.
The federal prosecutor closed the leather-bound settlement folder with a sharp *thud*. “Well, Mrs. Rowan, that officially concludes the largest corporate asset recovery case in Texas history. Is there anything else your legal team requires?”
“No, Counsel,” I replied with a faint, confident smile. “The books are balanced. The audit is complete.”
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I terminated the holographic feed, letting the Dallas conference room fade to black as I turned back to look out over the glittering expanse of Lake Zurich from my penthouse office, ready for whatever horizon came next.
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