Chapter 6 - The Founder’s Envelope
Martha Sterling walked slowly across the lobby, leaning on her wooden cane, her scuffed shoes clicking against the floor until she stood beside her son and the young runner.
She looked down at Ethan, her pale blue eyes crinkling at the corners with a warm, approving smile.
"What is your name, young man?" Martha asked softly.
"Ethan, ma'am," he answered, his voice still shaking slightly.
"Well, Ethan," Martha said, extending the thick, yellowed manila envelope she had clutched the entire time. "You risked your job to protect an old woman you thought had nothing. That is the kind of character my husband and I built this company on fifty years ago."
She handed the envelope to Arthur.
Arthur took it with both hands, his fingers tracing the faded ink on the cover. He looked down at his mother, his eyes swimming with sudden emotion. "Maman... is this...?"
"Yes, Arthur," Martha nodded. "The original incorporation papers, signed when we didn't even have enough money to pay our electricity bill. I found them in the attic yesterday while looking through your father's old trunk. I wanted you to have them, to remind you of why we started all of this."
Arthur carefully unsealed the envelope, pulling out the fragile, historic parchment. He looked at it for a long moment, swallowing hard, before tucking it safely against his heart.
He turned back to Ethan, extending his hand.
"Ethan," Arthur said firmly, shaking the teenager’s hand with a grip of solid iron. "You stood up when everyone else looked away. We need people like you at Apex. Not down here running recycling bins, but up on the forty-fifth floor, helping us oversee our community outreach and ethics compliance division."
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Ethan blinked, thunderstruck. "The forty-fifth floor? Sir... I don't even have a college degree yet. I'm just taking night classes."
"We will pay for your degree, Ethan," Martha smiled, resting a warm hand on his arm. "Full scholarship, ivy league if you want it. But first, you are going to help us clean out the rot in middle management."
