Chapter 7 - The Downfall of Vanguard
While Evan was crumbling, Jonathan Vance was finding out that playing dirty with a bootstrapped founder was the worst mistake of his life.
David Thorne, my litigator, didn't just file a lawsuit against Vanguard Tech—he launched a full-scale antitrust and corporate espionage investigation through the federal courts, backed by the irrefutable digital paper trail I had uncovered.
By Friday morning, the board of directors at Vanguard Tech had held an emergency session. Faced with impending federal indictments and catastrophic public backlash from the *LatticePointWar* media storm, Vanguard’s investors did the only thing they could do to save themselves.
They ousted Jonathan Vance as CEO.
At 2:00 PM, my phone rang again. This time, it wasn't a panicked ex-fiancé or a arrogant corporate predator.
It was Richard Sterling, chairman of LatticePoint’s board.
“Claire,” Sterling’s voice sounded almost reverent. “Have you seen the news?”
“I’m looking at it right now,” I replied, watching a live broadcast on financial news reporting Jonathan Vance’s sudden resignation from Vanguard Tech amid federal investigations.
“I just want to say… I was wrong about you,” Sterling admitted, his tone humbling itself. “When you insisted on fighting back instead of sweeping it under the rug, I thought you were letting emotion cloud your judgment. But you played that masterfully. The board is unanimously voting to expand your voting share authority to ninety-five percent.”
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“Thank you, Richard,” I said simply. “I always knew what LatticePoint was capable of.”
***
