Chapter 10 - The Dawn of Reckoning
By 8:00 AM the next morning, the sun was shining brightly through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Kalista’s downtown penthouse. She stood by the glass, holding a cup of black coffee. She had showered, washed the blood from her skin, and dressed in a sharp, tailored black power suit. She looked nothing like a blushing bride, and everything like an executioner.
Lenora was asleep in the guest bedroom, heavily medicated, a thick bandage wrapped around her head. The police had taken Sterling away in handcuffs last night—Aunt Coraline, terrified of Kalista's wrath, had miraculously found her courage and corroborated the assault to the officers. Thatcher had spent the night in the emergency room, getting pins put in his shattered fingers, before slinking off to a hotel.
Kalista's phone buzzed on the glass coffee table. It was her lead attorney, Marcus.
"Is it done?" Kalista asked, not bothering with a greeting.
"It's done," Marcus replied, his voice crackling with excitement. "The moment Sterling was booked for felony assault, the morality clauses in his major investor contracts were triggered. We swooped in at the bell. My team just froze the majority of his liquid assets. The board is convening an emergency vote to oust him by noon."
"And Thatcher?" Kalista asked coldly.
"Served," Marcus said. "Annulment papers based on fraud and domestic violence. Furthermore, because he transferred his shares into the joint marital trust yesterday afternoon—as per your very clever prenup—you currently have majority voting power in his startup. You own him, Kalista."
"Good," Kalista took a slow sip of her coffee, looking out over the sprawling city skyline. It was a beautiful morning.
"They're going to fight, Kalista," Marcus warned. "Sterling will post bail. He will come after you with everything he has."
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"Let him come," Kalista replied, a lethal smile touching her lips. "I told them last night I would destroy them. I'm just getting started. Burn it all down, Marcus."
She hung up the phone. The empire of Sterling and Thatcher was already turning to ash, and Kalista was more than ready to rule the ruins.
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