Chapter 7 - The Billionaire's Collapse
By sunrise, the financial world was in a state of unprecedented paralysis.
I sat at my kitchen table, sipping a cup of black coffee, watching a live financial news broadcast on the television. The banner across the screen flashed in bold red letters: GLOBAL TECH CONGLOMERATE APEX HORIZON DECLARES EMERGENCY BANKRUPTCY AMID MASSIVE CYBER AUDIT.
The anchor’s voice was breathless with disbelief.
"...Federal regulators and international banking authorities are scrambling this morning following a catastrophic, coordinated digital blackout that has effectively paralyzed Apex Horizon Holdings and its primary North American subsidiary, Vance Dynamics. Sources close to the investigation confirm that over $4.2 billion in corporate liquidity was automatically seized and redistributed into public restitution funds overnight, leaving billionaire industrialist Julian Vance and his brother Harrison Vance entirely locked out of their personal accounts..."
My phone buzzed on the kitchen table.
An incoming video call.
Not from an unknown number. Not from an encrypted proxy.
From Tyler.
I swiped the screen instantly, my hands trembling as the video feed connected.
The screen flickered, revealing the bright, sunlit interior of a private aviation lounge. The snowy peaks of the Swiss Alps were visible through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows in the background.
Tyler sat in a leather armchair, wearing his navy blazer, looking relaxed, confident, and ten years older than his thirteen years.
"Hey, Mom," Tyler said softly, a brilliant, genuine smile lighting up his face. "Did you see the news?"
Tears spilled over my eyelids, hot and fast, but this time they were tears of pure, overwhelming relief. I covered my mouth with my hand, unable to speak for a moment as I just stared at my boy across the screen.
"I saw it, Ty," I choked out, my voice thick with emotion. "Are you safe? Are you okay?"
"I’m more than okay, Mom," Tyler said, leaning closer to the camera. "Julian Vance is currently detained by Swiss federal police at Zurich International Airport for questioning regarding corporate fraud and patent theft. And Harrison... well, Harrison just found out his corporate credit cards were declined at a luxury hotel lobby in Georgetown."
Tyler paused, his expression softening into something deeply tender.
May you like
"The private jet that brought me here is turning around right now, Mom. My return flight lands at Dulles tomorrow afternoon at 3:15 PM."
I let out a long, shuddering sob of laughter. "I’ll be there, baby. I’ll be waiting right at the arrival gate."
