Chapter 7 - The Frozen Accounts and the Panic in the Boardroom
The silence in the obsidian boardroom was deafening.
Henderson clutched his chest,
gasping softly for air as the reality of the situation settled over him like a lead blanket.
Majority stakeholder?
Henderson repeated,
his voice cracking with panic.
Are you telling me that a former housewife now controls the voting shares of Hayes Enterprises?
That is precisely what I am telling you,
Marcus replied coolly,
adjusting his silver-rimmed glasses.
Furthermore,
under the emergency liquidation order signed by federal Judge Sterling this morning,
all corporate credit lines,
payroll accounts,
and subsidiary investments are frozen indefinitely pending full criminal prosecution of Trevor and any board members who aided in covering up the embezzlement.
Julian,
who had just slipped into the back of the boardroom,
grabbed the edge of a leather chair to keep from collapsing.
You can't do this!
Julian shouted,
his voice cracking hysterically.
We have payroll to meet on Friday!
We have international shipping contracts coming due!
If the accounts stay frozen,
the company will declare bankruptcy within seventy-two hours!
Then I suggest you start packing your personal belongings out of your offices right now,
Julian,
Marcus retorted with an icy smile.
Because by tomorrow morning,
the federal marshals will be changing the locks on every single door in this building.
Eleanor regained her composure,
her face twisting into an ugly mask of desperation and hatred.
She can't do this legally,
Eleanor hissed,
stepping forward,
her fingernails digging into the polished wood of the table.
We will challenge the validity of the marriage contract in court!
We will claim coercion!
We will claim mental instability!
You can claim whatever you want, Eleanor,
Marcus replied calmly,
turning toward the double doors.
But when you stand before a federal judge to explain why your son diverted twelve million dollars of pension funds into an offshore account in the Bahamas,
let me know how the 'mental instability' defense works out for you.
With that,
Marcus turned on his heel and walked out of the boardroom,
leaving the elite directors of Hayes Enterprises staring at their own impending doom.
Julian sank into a chair,
burying his face in his hands as he began to weep softly.
We're ruined,
Julian sobbed.
Everything father built,
everything we stole,
everything we worked for...
It's all gone because we underestimated her.
Eleanor walked over to the floor-to-ceiling glass window,
staring out at the distant desert horizon where the heat shimmered in the midday sun.
Her reflection in the glass showed an aging, desperate woman whose iron grip on her family had finally slipped through her fingers.
She's not getting away with this,
Eleanor whispered to herself,
her eyes gleaming with a manic, dangerous light.
May you like
If I'm going down,
I'm taking her down with me.
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