Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Massacre
By 8:00 a.m. the following morning, the business world of Charlotte was hit by a megaton explosion.
Ethan Walker sat in his corner office on the 14th floor of the Walker Development tower, staring blankly at three computer screens. Every single screen was flashing red.
CALL OPTION REVOKED. CREDIT LINE TERMINATED. BANK ACCOUNT FROZEN BY COURT ORDER.
His secretary didn't even knock before bursting into the room, her face pale. "Mr. Walker! The bank representatives are downstairs! They're locking the trading floors! And... and the prime contractors for the Southgate site just walked off the job! They said their checks bounced!"
"Tell them it's a technical error!" Ethan yelled, his hair disheveled, his tie undone. He hadn't slept a single minute. He had tried calling Grace sixty-three times; every call went straight to voicemail. He had called her brothers' offices, only to be placed on hold indefinitely by cold-voiced receptionists.
Suddenly, the glass doors of his executive suite clicked open.
A team of lawyers in dark charcoal suits marched in, led by a middle-aged woman with silver hair and an aura of absolute legal supremacy. Evelyn Vance—chief legal counsel for Montgomery Global.
Behind them came two uniformed private security officers.
"Ethan Walker," Evelyn said, placing a thick stack of documents on his mahogany desk. "Effective 8:00 a.m. today, Montgomery Capital has executed its right of foreclosure on all assets pledged as collateral for the series A, B, and C development loans for Walker Development."
Ethan stood up, shaking. "You can't do that! The Southgate project is three weeks away from completion! If you freeze my accounts now, the whole thing defaults!"
"It already defaulted," Evelyn replied calmly. "You pledged seventy percent of your equity in this company as security. The guarantor on those loans was a private trust managed by Grace Montgomery Walker."
Ethan felt as though the floor had vanished beneath his feet. "Grace? Grace held my loans?"
"Grace funded your life," Evelyn corrected sharply. "And yesterday evening, Grace executed a full revocation of her guarantee due to breach of marital loyalty and fraudulent misuse of corporate funds."
Evelyn gestured to the security officers. "Pack your personal belongings, Mr. Walker. You have ten minutes to clear out this office. Walker Development no longer belongs to you. As of this morning, it is a fully owned subsidiary of Montgomery Global."
"Wait!" Ethan cried, tears finally spilling from his eyes. "Where is Grace?! I need to see her! She’s my wife! She’s carrying my child!"
Evelyn gave him a look of absolute disgust. "Mrs. Walker is currently resting at the Montgomery estate under top-tier medical care. A formal petition for divorce on the grounds of adultery, domestic abuse, and financial fraud was filed with the North Carolina Superior Court twenty minutes ago. You will communicate with her exclusively through me."
At that moment, the door pushed open again, and Lauren walked in, looking frantic. Her hair was messy, and her phone was pressed to her ear.
"Ethan! What is happening?!" Lauren screamed, ignoring the lawyers. "My father just called me crying! The bank just revoked his law firm's line of credit! His partners just ousted him! They're blaming me!"
She stopped when she saw the security guards packing Ethan’s desk into cardboard boxes.
"What... what are they doing?" Lauren stammered.
Ethan looked at Lauren, the raw hatred in his eyes finally boiling over. "You," he breathed, walking slowly toward her. "This is all your fault!"
"My fault?!" Lauren yelled back. "You told me you were the mastermind! You told me you owned this city! You're nothing! You're just a fake! A charity project for a billionaire's daughter!"
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"Get out!" Ethan roared. "Get out of my face!"
"Both of you need to leave," Evelyn interrupted coldly, gesturing to the guards. "Escort them to the street. If either of them attempts to re-enter this building, have them arrested for criminal trespassing."
