Chapter 4 - The Financial Avalanche
The man in the navy suit who had entered alongside Harrison stepped forward immediately, opening his heavy leather briefcase and pulling out three bound legal dossiers, placing them flat on the mahogany side table in the foyer.
"Mr. Julian Blackwood," the attorney said in a crisp, unemotional voice. "My name is Arthur Vance, Chief Legal Counsel for Sterling Global Holdings. As of 9:15 PM tonight, the following actions have been executed against you and the Blackwood Group."
Arthur pulled out a tablet, displaying a series of rapidly falling red stock charts.
"First," Arthur announced, "Sterling Treasury Services has liquidated its three-billion-dollar liquidity guarantee previously held with your primary creditor, Bank of America. Consequently, Bank of America has declared all Blackwood Group commercial loans in technical default, demanding immediate settlement of eight hundred and fifty million dollars by midnight tonight."
Julian’s face drained of what little color remained. "Eight hundred... eight hundred million?! That's impossible! We don't have that much liquid capital on hand!"
"Second," Arthur continued calmly, sliding to the next document, "the United States Department of Justice, acting on forensic evidence provided by Ms. Sloan Sterling, has issued twenty-four emergency asset freeze orders across all domestic and offshore accounts belonging to the Blackwood family, including your personal accounts, your mother's trust, and your corporate payroll."
"What?!" Victoria Blackwood screamed, collapsing to her knees on the ruined carpet. "My trust fund?! You can't touch my trust fund! That's private property!"
"Your trust fund was collateralized using forged securities issued by Blackwood Logistics," Arthur replied coldly. "A firm whose financial statements were audited and exposed as fraudulent by Ms. Sterling forty-five minutes ago."
Julian stared at me, his eyes wide with sheer horror and utter disbelief. "You... you audited our books?"
I looked down at him with cool indifference. "Did you really think I spent the last five years just doing house chores, Julian? While you were spending millions taking Khloe to Paris and Dubai, I was managing your corporate accounts from my laptop in the study. I knew every shell company you built, every tax evasion scheme your brother ran, and every illegal offshore wire your mother authorized. I kept your company solvent for five years out of pity. Tonight, I simply pulled my hand away."
Julian choked on his own breath. "You... you were the one managing our liquidity algorithms?"
"You thought it was your genius financial team," I sneered softly. "Your team consisted of incompetent fools who couldn't balance a checkbook. It was my code running behind your servers that saved you from bankruptcy three years ago. I built your empire, Julian. And now I've dismantled it."
"Third," Arthur Vance cut in, turning to a final document, "the Securities and Exchange Commission has suspended trading of Blackwood Group shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has plummeted ninety-two percent in after-hours trading. Your firm is officially insolvent."
"No... no, no, no!" Marcus Blackwood screamed, grabbing his head in panic. "This is a nightmare! Julian, do something! Call our lawyers! Call the Governor!"
"The Governor is currently on the phone with Mr. Harrison Sterling, apologizing for not intervening sooner," Arthur said flatly, shutting his briefcase with a loud snap. "Furthermore, two senior agents from the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI Financial Crimes Unit are waiting outside to take you, Marcus Blackwood, and Victoria Blackwood into federal custody for grand corporate fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion."
Victoria fainted spot-on, falling backward onto the floor, while Marcus dropped to his hands and knees, sobbing uncontrollably into the carpet.
Julian crawled across the shattered glass toward my feet, his bloodied hands reaching out to grab the hem of my coat, his voice cracking in pathetic, desperate wails.
"Sloan! Please! I beg you!" Julian sobbed, tears cutting clear tracks through the blood and dirt on his face. "I was blind! I was stupid! I was seduced by Khloe's lies! I’ll divorce her! I’ll throw her out on the street right now! I'll give you everything—the house, the company, my life! Just save my family! Don't ruin us! Think of Penny!"
Penny looked down at her father from my arms, her small face completely stoic. She leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Mommy, he hurt you. He doesn't love us."
I looked at Julian, stepping back smoothly so his bloodied fingers caught nothing but empty air.
"My daughter knows the truth, Julian," I said softly. "You never loved us. You loved the power you thought you had over us. You loved the ego boost Khloe gave you. You loved feeling like a grand patriarch while stepping on a woman who was ten times smarter than you will ever be."
"Sloan!" Julian shrieked as two heavy-set federal marshals stepped up, grabbed his arms, and dragged him to his feet, pulling his hands behind his back and snapping steel handcuffs over his wrists.
"Julian Blackwood, you are under arrest," the lead marshal declared sternly. "You have the right to remain silent..."
As the marshals dragged Julian, Marcus, and Victoria out toward the waiting law enforcement vehicles, Khloe Vance was being loaded into a police cruiser in handcuffs, screaming obscenities at the officers, her red silk dress covered in black mud.
I stood in the center of the ruined foyer, holding Penny close, watching the entire Blackwood clan being hauled away into the rain like common criminals.
Harrison stepped up beside me, draping a warm, luxurious vicuna wool coat over my shoulders.
"The jet is waiting at O'Hare, Sloan," Harrison said softly, resting his hand on my shoulder. "Grandfather is waiting for you at the Sterling Estate in Greenwich. He has missed his granddaughter very much."
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I looked out at the flashing red and blue lights reflecting off the wet pavement, then down at Penny, who was already drifting off to sleep in my arms, safe, warm, and secure at last.
"Let's go home, Harrison," I said.
