Chapter 6 - The Fall of Hale Corporation
Forty-eight hours after Lena left the estate, disaster struck.
Arthur Hale launched a sudden boardroom coup, releasing leaked documents to the press accusing Julian Hale of massive embezzlement and corporate misconduct. The stock price of Hale Corporation plummeted by forty percent in a single morning.
Federal agents arrived at Hale Tower with search warrants, seizing hard drives and financial ledgers.
Julian did not fight the arrest. He sat in his office quietly, allowing the officers to place him in handcuffs, his expression hollow and resigned.
Watching the news from her small rented room near the bus terminal, Lena felt a cold knot tighten in her stomach.
She saw Julian being led out of his building by federal agents, surrounded by flashing cameras and screaming reporters. He looked pale, exhausted, and utterly defeated.
Then, her phone rang.
It was Eleanor Hale.
"Lena," the old woman’s voice whimpered weakly through the speaker. "Please... come to the hospital. I need to tell you what my grandson was trying to do."
Lena rushed to Charlotte Memorial Hospital.
Inside the private room, Eleanor lay in a hospital bed, hooked up to heart monitors. She held out her trembling hand to Lena, tears swimming in her aged eyes.
"Julian didn't steal that money, Lena," Eleanor wept gently. "He was hiding it from Arthur."
Lena froze. "What?"
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"Arthur murdered Julian's father eight years ago," Eleanor revealed, her voice shaking with sorrow. "He covered it up as a boating accident to seize control of the board. For the last three years, Julian discovered Arthur was using Hale Corporation to launder money for an international cartel."
Eleanor squeezed Lena’s hand tightly. "Julian was draining those accounts to build a federal evidence file against Arthur! He put those accounts under your name not to frame you, but to protect the funds so Arthur couldn't liquidate them and flee the country!"
