Part 2: The Dockside Collapse
## Part 2: The Liquid Assets
The corporate headquarters of Vance Global Marine occupied the top four floors of the Columbia Center.
By 2:00 a.m., the lights in the executive suite were completely ablaze.
My father sat behind his massive mahogany desk, but he didn't look like a king anymore.
He looked like an old man trapped in a burning house.
Three corporate lawyers were standing near the window, their phones glued to their ears, their faces pale under the bright track lighting.
"The port authority won't budge, Richard," the lead attorney said, dropping his phone onto the leather blotter.
"Audrey’s trust has a triple-A legal status."
"If those ships aren't unloaded by sunrise, the breach of contract fees from the Japanese buyers will hit forty million dollars."
The door to the office slammed open.
Vanessa came in, her hair disheveled, her silk blouse stained with coffee.
"Dad! The bank just froze my line of credit!" she shrieked, throwing her designer handbag onto the sofa.
"They said my personal accounts are linked to the Vance Global corporate indemnity fund."
"I can't even pay the retainer for my defense lawyer!"
My father didn't look at her.
He was staring at the black speakerphone in the center of his desk.
I was on the other end of the line, sitting in the armchair beside Emily’s hospital bed, watching the rain hit the glass.
"Audrey," my father said, his voice rough and hollow.
"You are destroying your mother’s legacy."
"Mother’s legacy was a daughter who almost drowned because you wanted to protect Vanessa’s ego," I said through the speaker.
"You told me she had to learn, Dad."
"Well, now it’s your turn."
"What do you want?" he asked. "Money? I will double your shares. I will give you the seat on the board you wanted three years ago."
"I don't want your shares, Richard," I said.
"And I don't want a seat at a table full of cowards."
"I want the dissolution of Vance Global."
The room on the other end of the line went completely silent.
One of the lawyers let out a sharp, horrified breath.
"Dissolution?" my father whispered. "That company has been in our family for three generations."
"Then three generations of arrogance are about to end," I said.
"The Alpha-Nine trust has already accepted an acquisition offer from Crowley Maritime."
"They are buying the berths."
"They are buying the contracts."
"And they have agreed to retain every single dockworker and sailor on the payroll—except for you, Vanessa, and Mark."
Vanessa ran toward the desk, screaming into the phone.
"You can't do this, you miserable b*tch! I’ll tell the press you’re unstable! I’ll tell them you fabricated the pool story to steal the company!"
"The hotel had four security cameras overlooking the pool deck, Vanessa," I said softly.
"The police already have the high-definition footage."
"They have the shot of you looking at Emily, smiling, and nudging her with your hip."
"And they have the audio from my father’s smartwatch recording him telling me to let her drown."
The silence returned, heavier this time.
The corporate lawyers slowly began to pack their leather briefcases.
They knew a losing battle when they saw one.
One by one, they walked out of the executive suite, leaving my father and sister alone in the dark tower overlooking the city.
"Audrey," my father said, his voice finally breaking. "Please. Your sister... she won't survive in prison. She doesn't have the strength."
"She should have thought about her strength before she pushed my daughter," I replied.
"The police are outside your building, Richard."
"I suggest you open the door."
I hung up the phone.
I stood up from the chair and walked over to Emily’s bedside.
Her fever had broken.
Her skin was warm and pink again.
But as I tucked the blanket around her shoulders, the secondary screen on my tablet flashed with a new, urgent notification from the hospital’s security desk.
May you like
My brother, Mark, who hadn't said a single word all night, was currently standing in the lobby downstairs.
And he wasn't alone.
