Chapter 24 - The Ultimatum
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Richard stared at the heavy black binder sitting on Emily's desk, a brief flash of genuine apprehension crossing his features before his massive ego quickly reasserted itself.
"What is this, Emily?" Richard scoffed, refusing to touch the folder. "More of your pathetic, moralistic posturing? Did you print out a list of hospital ethical guidelines for me to read?"
"Open it, Richard," Emily commanded, her voice dropping to a dangerously quiet, lethal octave. "I highly suggest you read the very first page."
Reluctantly, attempting to maintain his facade of total boredom, Richard reached forward and flipped open the heavy cover of the binder.
His eyes scanned the first printed document. It was the internal, highly classified email he had sent directly to the Vanguard board, detailing the illegal price-gouging strategy for the pediatric leukemia medication.
All the color instantly drained from Richard’s face. He turned incredibly pale, looking like a man who had just been forcefully punched in the stomach. His arrogant hands began to tremble violently as he frantically flipped through the following pages, reading the suppressed clinical trial reports, the offshore financial transfers, and the sworn, signed affidavit from Dr. Sarah Evans.
"Where... where did you get this?" Richard stammered, his voice cracking, the polished, confident billionaire entirely vanishing in the span of thirty seconds. "This is highly confidential, proprietary corporate information. It's stolen property!"
"It is evidence of massive, federal corporate fraud and criminal extortion," Emily corrected him coldly, leaning back in her chair, observing his total panic with absolute, unwavering detachment. "And I have three digital copies securely stored in offshore servers, just in case you try anything foolish."
Richard slammed the binder shut, standing up so quickly he knocked his chair backward. He began pacing frantically in front of her desk, his breathing ragged and shallow.
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"You can't release this, Emily," Richard panicked, pointing a shaking finger at her. "It will completely destroy Vanguard. The SEC will freeze my assets. The DOJ will pursue criminal charges. I’ll go to federal prison!"
"Yes, you will," Emily agreed calmly, entirely unmoved by his terror. "Unless you do exactly what I tell you to do."
