A collective gasp echoed through the studio. Even David Vance raised an eyebrow. Arthur Sterling was a legendary, reclusive billionaire, the mastermind behind the largest medical and pharmaceutical holding companies in the country.
“My father was the sole founder of the Apex Medical Investment Fund,” I stated. I reached down to the small table beside my chair and picked up a heavy, manila folder. I placed it on my lap and opened it.
“Last month, following the legal probation period after my twenty-fifth birthday, I officially took over as the sole beneficiary and CEO of this fund,” I announced to the world.
I looked back up at the camera, my eyes burning with a righteous, devastating fire.
“And the most interesting thing about Apex Medical,” I said, leaning forward slightly, “is our diverse portfolio of debt acquisition. You see, Margaret Carter loves to live beyond her means to project an image of royalty. Over the past five years, she has heavily mortgaged the entirety of the Carter family’s assets, their estates, and their corporate holding companies, to a private bank.”
I pulled a document from the folder and held it up. The camera zoomed in, capturing the bold legal headers.
“A bank,” I said, a dark, victorious smile finally touching my lips, “that is wholly owned and managed by the Apex Fund.”
I knew, in that exact second, that Margaret Carter was screaming in pure, unadulterated terror. I knew Caleb was realizing that the ground he stood on had just been vaporized.
