Chapter 5 - The Emergency Board Meeting
By 11:30 AM, the executive boardroom on the thirty-fifth floor of Bennett-Moretti Global Logistics looked less like a corporate meeting room and more like a war command center.
Federal agents from the Department of Justice, regional cybersecurity directors, and Marcus Vance—who had rushed in from his retirement home in Cape Cod at the sound of Claire’s emergency ping—sat around the massive mahogany table.
Claire stood at the head of the table, her hands resting flat against the polished wood. Her dark hair was neatly pinned back, her expression an absolute mask of cold determination.
"The audio file recovered from the Rockport estate has been authenticated by federal forensics," Marcus Vance announced, clicking a remote to bring up a transcript of Elena’s extortion threat on the massive wall-mounted display. "Combined with the satellite uplink logs and the illicit routing scripts, we have enough probable cause to issue an immediate nationwide federal arrest warrant for Elena Ward, as well as an emergency injunction freezing every offshore account tied to her dummy corporations."
"What about Vincent’s old proxy loophole?" Claire asked, her eyes fixed on the lead federal investigator, Agent Thomas Sterling.
Agent Sterling nodded grimly. "We’ve already subpoenaed the federal prison warden in upstate New York. It appears an internal staff member—a corrupted records clerk—was paid off to backdate Vincent’s signature on the trust amendments. That clerk is currently in custody. Vincent’s involvement is being investigated as an accessory to conspiracy."
Claire stared at the transcript on the wall, her mind flashing back to the man who used to take off his watch before sleeping, the man who brought her peppermint tea when she had headaches. He was rotting behind bars because his own unrelenting greed hadn't stopped at the courtroom door; he had tried to reach out from his cell to reclaim a throne that had never truly belonged to him.
"Don't let him file another appeal," Claire said quietly. "Ensure his isolation status at the penitentiary is upgraded to maximum security. He stays cut off from the outside world permanently."
"Done," Agent Sterling replied. "Now, what about Elena? Our tactical units are surrounding the Rockport estate as we speak."
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A faint, cold smile touched the corners of Claire’s lips.
"Let her try to run," Claire said. "Because by the time federal agents kick down that front door, she won't have a single dollar left in any account to pay for a lawyer."
