Chapter 4 - THE CORPORATE INTERDICTION
The early morning sun of Monday did nothing to warm the frosted glass panels of Whitmore Holdings' central headquarters in the financial district.
Lauren sat in her expansive executive suite, her custom-tailored silk blazer wrinkled, her fingers frantically typing codes into her terminal.
Her husband, Julian, stood by the window, his face a pasty shade of wet ash as he watched three black tactical SUVs pull up to the curb.
"Lauren! The bank just executed a total, non-negotiable freeze on our offshore dividend accounts!" he shouted, his voice cracking with primitive panic.
"They are claiming our corporate bonds are fraudulent because the secondary land deeds belong to a primary family trust!"
"They are saying we don't have the authority to sign the regional development contracts today!"
Lauren looked up, her bloodshot eyes wide with an aggressive, defensive fury as she tried to maintain her usual aristocratic composure.
"That's impossible! I paid the commissioner to lock Rachel inside the family court registry; she shouldn't even have a lawyer active!"
"The commissioner was arrested at his private residence three hours ago, Lauren," a calm, freezing voice announced from the double doors.
I walked through the threshold, my damp pool clothes replaced by an immaculate, tailored charcoal wool power suit, my posture perfectly rigid.
Behind me walked Nicholas, flanked by six armed federal marshals whose gold shields gleamed brilliantly under the office lights.
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"The company is closed, Lauren," I said, my voice cutting through her screaming register like a razor-sharp steel blade.
"And your twenty-thousand-dollar bag isn't going to save your legacy today."
