Thomas shook his head frantically, fingers digging into the edge of the table. “No. No, this can’t be happening. We are the Sterlings! You’re a nobody who cleans up after old people!”

“I was the person who gave your aunt a cup of tea when she was lonely,” I said quietly. “I was the person who held her hand while she died, while her own flesh and blood was busy calculating how to liquidate her memory.”

I looked at him. “You thought her isolation was your shield. It was your trap.”

I turned to the rest of the board, who were watching in horror.

“As the majority shareholder of Sterling Industries, my first official act is to suspend Thomas and Robert Sterling from all executive duties, effective immediately, pending the outcome of the federal investigation.

The sale of the tech division is canceled.”