Chapter 4 - THE CORPORATE RETRIBUTION
The early morning sun of Monday did nothing to warm the frosted glass windows of Derek’s corporate headquarters in the financial district.
At exactly 9:00 AM, the trading floor opened, and within forty-two seconds, the company's stock value began a historic, unstoppable descent.
Arturo’s litigation firm had filed thirty-two simultaneous injunctions, freezing every domestic line of credit, every commercial license, and every asset owned by the firm.
The media syndicates, which had received the leaked copies of the forensic banking fraud files, ran the story as their primary regional headline.
Inside her luxury villa, Claire sat at her dressing table, her face turning an instant, pasty shade of wet ash as her premium corporate credit cards were systematically declined by the registry terminal.
She dialed Derek’s number, her voice rising in a sharp, desperate register of raw, primitive panic.
"Derek! What is happening to the accounts?" she shrieked, her fingers clenching the edge of her vanity mirror.
"The bank just notified me that the primary asset vault has been placed under an emergency treasury block!"
"They are saying we are under investigation for international money laundering and wire fraud!"
"It’s your mother," Derek whispered, his voice shaking violently as he stood inside the empty lobby of his empty firm.
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"She didn't call the local police, Claire; she went straight to the federal judiciary."
"The marshals are already at our gates, and they are executing a total seizure of our inventory."
