Chapter 10 - The Reign Begins
The heavy steel doors of the server room suddenly burst violently outward in a shower of sparks.
A heavily armed tactical team swarmed the freezing room, aiming their laser sights into the dark.
A tall, distinguished man in a pristine charcoal suit stepped through the breached doorway.
It was Arthur's father, the true patriarch of the Sterling Empire, looking down at his freezing son.
He ordered his medics to wrap Arthur and Julian in thermal blankets and escort them out of the underground facility.
Within hours, the sheer, terrifying power of the true Sterling machinery was unleashed upon the world.
Uncle Silas was apprehended by federal agents at a private airstrip before he could even board his jet.
Elias was found unconscious in the utility tunnels and quietly taken to a black site for extensive interrogation.
Arthur's father had successfully traced the stolen funds and forcefully repossessed them before the money could settle.
The Vance family fortune was completely restored, saving Julian's legacy from utter annihilation.
A week later, the autumn sun shone brightly once again over the manicured lawns of St. Jude University.
Julian walked across the quad, his demeanor completely changed, nodding respectfully to the students he used to torment.
Arthur finally drove his own car through the front gates, an obscenely expensive, custom-built Bugatti.
He stepped out, no longer hiding in cheap clothes, openly wearing the true power of the Sterling name.
The entire student body watched in absolute, terrified awe as the invisible charity case claimed his rightful throne.
Arthur had won his war, secured his family's vast empire, and found an unexpected, loyal ally in Julian.
He stood by the campus fountain, finally feeling a sense of absolute peace and untouchable victory.
His phone buzzed in his pocket with a single, untraceable text message.
Arthur smiled warmly, assuming it was a congratulatory message from his father's private secretary.
The encrypted message read that the Sterling family ring was successfully cloned before it was returned.
May you like
Chloe smiled up at the sun from a private beach in Monaco, her phone resting on a glass table.
She had played the long game perfectly, and now the real takeover was about to begin.
