Chapter 4 - Unearthing the Empire
With Derek behind bars awaiting trial, my father shifted his focus to destroying the foundation of Derek's power: Ashford Technologies.
We gathered in the library of the Caldwell estate in Connecticut, where I was now living under twenty-four-hour armed guard. Maps, financial ledgers, and corporate flowcharts covered the massive mahogany table.
"Derek’s arrogance wasn't just personal; it was financial," my father explained, pouring a cup of chamomile tea and placing it before me. "Over the past three years, Ashford Tech claimed to be developing a revolutionary quantum-processing chip called the Aegis-9. It’s what drove their market valuation to eighty billion dollars."
"I remember," I said, rubbing my temples. "He spent every night at the lab for six months before our wedding."
"He wasn't at the lab, Victoria," my father said, tossing a thick red folder onto the table. "Our forensic investigators just finished auditing their offshore intellectual property holdings in the Cayman Islands. The Aegis-9 chip doesn't exist."
I gasped. "What?"
"It’s a massive, multi-billion-dollar fraud," my father revealed, his eyes sharp. "He’s been using fresh venture capital and private investor funds to pay off early debts while faking performance metrics. He was running a glorified Ponzi scheme wrapped in Silicon Valley buzzwords."
"If this goes public, Ashford Tech’s stock will collapse to zero overnight," I realized.
"Exactly," James replied. "And guess who holds seventy percent of the debt notes that Ashford Tech borrowed to keep the illusion alive?"
I looked at my father in realization. "You."
"I bought them through secondary holding companies over the last forty-eight hours," James smiled coldly. "I own their debt, Victoria. In three days, I am calling in a four-hundred-million-dollar liquidity margin call. When Derek can't pay, I will force Ashford Technologies into involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy."
Suddenly, my phone rang. It was an urgent call from Dr. Hoffman.
"Victoria," Dr. Hoffman’s voice sounded tense over the speaker. "I just received an official administrative order from the State Medical Board. Someone has filed a formal complaint contesting my medical license, alleging I fabricated your trauma reports under bribery from your father."
May you like
"Eleanor," I whispered, my heart plummeting. "She's trying to discredit the medical evidence."
"She’s doing more than that," Dr. Hoffman warned. "A court-appointed psychiatric evaluation team has just been requested by the defense to assess your competency as a mother before the birth."
