Chapter 2 - THE RECKONING AT THE GATE

The early morning sun of Monday did nothing to warm the frosted glass panels of the executive suite at Harrell Logistics’ downtown regional office.

Gavin sat in his high-backed leather chair, his designer tie completely undone, his handsome face looking hollowed out and pale as a continuous stream of red flags filled his monitor.

His mother, Meredith, stood by the water cooler, her tailored cream suit looking wrinkled and old, her large gold earrings shaking with a sudden, primitive high-society terror.

"Gavin! The mortgage brokers just issued an emergency foreclosure notice on our secondary real-estate investments in Wisconsin!" she shrieked, her voice cracking.

"They are saying our collateral is completely invalid because the parent company shares are under an active judicial recapture order from Summit Development!"

"They are claiming we don't even own the underlying land deeds for the warehouse projects!"

Gavin looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his confidence entirely stripped away as the heavy, synchronized footsteps of federal trade marshals began to echo through the lobby outside.

"It’s Stella," he whispered hoarsely, his hands dropping uselessly onto the mahogany desk as the system connectivity indicators dropped to zero percent.

"She didn't just walk out of the gate last night, Mom... she was the primary trustee of the advisory firm that approved my corporate credit lines."

"She has been tracking every single one of my personal loans since the day I signed that three-hundred-thousand-dollar promissory note through her parents."

Before Meredith could answer, the heavy double doors of the boardroom were violently thrown open, and I walked through the threshold, my posture perfectly rigid.

Behind me walked Arthur, flanked by six armed officers whose silver shields gleamed brilliantly under the blinding LED chandeliers of the office.