Chapter 5 - The Short Sale
Arthur Sterling stared at the document on his desk, then let out a booming laugh that bounced off the glass walls of his office.
"Resignation?! Are you out of your mind, Graham? Vanguard’s stock is trading at eighty-two dollars a share! We just secured a ninety-million-dollar credit line from Chase Commercial, and the Singapore deal closes at noon!"
"Check your terminal, Arthur," Graham said calmly, looking at his gold wrist watch. "It’s 7:15 AM."
Arthur’s brow furrowed. He turned to his Bloomberg terminal, tapping the mechanical keyboard.
The screen flashed red.
VANGUARD HOLDINGS (VGHD) — TRADING HALT — PENDING REGULATORY INQUIRY
Arthur stood up so fast his leather executive chair slammed into the glass wall behind him. "What is this?! What did you do?!"
"At 4:00 AM," Graham’s lead attorney spoke up, stepping forward and opening a black portfolio, "Vale Global acquired eighty-five percent of the defaulted debt covenants held against Apex Urban Living. At 5:30 AM, we presented evidence of systematic building code fraud, illegal tenant lockouts, and emergency heating shutoffs to the State Attorney General."
"You... you snitched to the AG?!" Arthur yelled, his face turning an unsightly shade of purple.
"At 6:00 AM," Graham continued, his voice terrifyingly calm, "I personally purchased thirty-four percent of Vanguard’s floating equity shares on the London pre-market exchange. By 7:00 AM, I dumped them all back into the market at a forty percent loss, triggering an automatic panic sell-off among your institutional investors."
Arthur’s hands began to tremble. He stared at the screen as trading resumed for thirty seconds.
VGHD — $82.00... $64.00... $41.00... $18.50...
"My credit line..." Arthur stammered, his breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps. "Chase... Chase won't honor the credit line if the stock falls below fifty!"
"Chase already revoked the credit line, Arthur," Graham said, standing up smoothly and buttoning his jacket. "Because I bought the credit facility from them two hours ago. I am now your primary lender. And as your primary lender, I am calling in your entire two-hundred-million-dollar debt obligation due effective immediately."
Arthur sank back into his chair, his eyes wide, hollow, and completely devoid of life. His corporate empire, built on decades of ruthless exploitation and predatory land-grabs, had been entirely dismantled in less than three hours.
"Why?" Arthur whispered, looking up at Graham with genuine, pathetic confusion. "Why would you destroy a thirty-million-dollar acquisition deal for an old woman and a kid you don't even know?!"
May you like
Graham walked up to the edge of the mahogany desk, leaning down until his dark eyes were inches from Arthur Sterling’s pale face.
"Because she offered me a place with less wind," Graham said softly. "And you offered the world nothing but a storm."
