Chloe: Dad, look... his phone is still ringing.
Arthur: Pick it up, Chloe. Let’s hear what Richard Sterling has to say now[cite: 1].
Chloe took a breath, reaching out with trembling fingers to tap the green button on the speakerphone[cite: 1].
Richard Sterling (over phone): Chad! Are you still there?! Listen to me very carefully, do not say another word to Arthur Vance! The State Attorney General just issued a search warrant for our corporate offices!
Chad: What?! A search warrant for what?!
Richard Sterling (over phone): Fraud, embezzlement, and human trafficking! They're seizing all our hard drives! What did Chloe give her father?!
Chloe: I gave him everything, Richard. I gave him the flash drive I found in Chad’s private safe.
Richard Sterling (over phone): Chloe... please, let's talk about this like adults! We can settle this privately! We will give you a full divorce settlement, tens of millions of dollars!
Arthur: Save your money, Richard[cite: 1]. You're going to need every penny for your legal defense team[cite: 1].
Richard Sterling (over phone): Arthur, please! We've been business partners for twenty years! Don't ruin my family over a marital dispute!
Arthur: Marital dispute? Your son physically battered my daughter for six months[cite: 1]! You helped him cover it up! You threatened her!
Richard Sterling (over phone): I didn't know the extent of it! I swear I didn't know!
Chloe: You saw the bruises on my arms during Thanksgiving dinner, Richard! You told me that men in high positions have high stress, and that I should be more understanding!
Guest 3: Disgusting! Absolute monsters!
Guest 4: Lock them both up! The whole family is corrupt!
Arthur: You hear that, Richard[cite: 1]? That's the sound of your reputation burning to ashes in front of every billionaire in the state[cite: 1].
Richard Sterling (over phone): Arthur, I'm begging you—
Arthur grabbed the gold smartphone from Chad's hand and dropped it onto the marble floor, slamming his heavy leather shoe down directly on top of it. The screen shattered with a crunch, cutting off Richard's frantic voice instantly.
Chad: That was a two-thousand-dollar phone, you insane old bastard!
Arthur: You're worried about two thousand dollars? By tomorrow morning, Sterling Capital will be worth zero[cite: 1].
Chad: You can't take away my company! I own forty-nine percent of the stock!
Arthur: Not anymore[cite: 1]. When Chloe married you, your board required a morals clause in your executive contract[cite: 1]. A single felony charge forfeits all your executive shares back to the primary trust[cite: 1].
Chad: Morals clause... no... that clause was only supposed to apply to corporate fraud!
Arthur: Read the fine print next time, Chad[cite: 1]. My legal team drafted that contract[cite: 1]. I made sure domestic violence was listed right at the top[cite: 1].
Chad fell back against the security guards holding him, his knees buckling as the realization of his complete destruction washed over him.