Chapter 5 - Unraveling the Golden Boy
The executive offices of Vanguard Pharma downtown were bustling with morning trade analysts when the network servers suddenly went entirely dark.
Gavin was sitting in his corner suite, showing a prospective investor the new distribution metrics, when his primary terminal flashed a single, clinical error message.
“Account Frozen by Order of the United States Treasury.”
He tried to slide his personal credit card through the office terminal to settle a pending client invoice, but the machine printed a red alert slip: COMPROMISED ASSET.
"What is the meaning of this?" Gavin shouted, slamming his phone against the glass desk as his face rapidly turned a dangerous shade of crimson.
Before his administrative assistant could call the corporate banking managers, the double doors of the executive floor opened smoothly.
Poppy walked in, flanked by two federal marshals carrying an immediate, unappealable asset seizure warrant.
"Gavin Pearson?" the lead marshal asked, his voice echoing off the polished marble walls.
"You are under arrest for corporate grand larceny, identity theft, and cross-border financial laundering."
Gavin looked around the room, his eyes scanning his colleagues' faces for a single shred of support, but everyone was backing away from his desk.
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The charming, untouchable golden boy of Princeton had been reduced to a target in handcuffs before the noon trading session could even begin.
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