Chapter 3 - Unraveling the Empire
The storm hit Midtown Manhattan like a seismic wave.
By 10:30 AM, the glass-walled corridors of Vanguard MedTech were in total, unadulterated chaos.
My legal team’s emergency court order hadn't just frozen Sebastian’s personal bank accounts—it had placed a temporary judicial lien on his equity shares in the company, citing active asset concealment during a matrimonial dispute involving marital property worth tens of millions.
Because his shares were frozen, the SEC automatically flagged the company’s S-1 registration filing for the IPO.
Inside his corner office overlooking Central Park, Sebastian was currently losing his mind.
I knew this because Daniel was giving me a play-by-play text update from inside the building, where he worked as a senior director of business development.
“Goldman Sachs just walked out of the building,” Daniel texted. “The lead underwriter told Sebastian the roadshow is officially suspended until the legal encumbrances on his equity are cleared. Sebastian smashed his laptop against the wall.”
I was standing in the conference room of Julian’s law firm on Avenue of the Americas, reviewing court summonses, when my personal phone vibrated on the table.
The caller ID read: Sebastian Stanford.
I let it ring until the final second, then tapped the speakerphone button.
"Mariana!" Sebastian’s voice boomed through the speaker, so choked with rage he sounded like he was hyperventilating. "What the hell did you do?! Have you lost your fucking mind?!"
I kept my tone cool, calm, and exquisitely professional. "Good morning, Sebastian. How is your IPO prep going?"
"You stupid, vindictive bitch!" he screamed. "You froze my accounts?! You put a legal hold on my company stock?! Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?! You just cost me a hundred million dollars!"
"Correction, Sebastian," I said smoothly. "I cost you everything. And I haven't even started yet."
"You think this is funny?!" he rasped. "My father is calling his contacts at the Supreme Court right now! That restraining order will be dissolved by four o'clock today! You have no standing, Mariana! You’re my wife, and everything you have came from my pocket!"
"Is that what Arthur told you?" I asked, a soft, mocking laugh escaping my lips. "Sebastian, check your personal email."
A pause echoed over the line. I heard the heavy clatter of his computer keys in the background.
"What is this?" he muttered, his voice suddenly losing a fraction of its explosive fury, replaced by a dark, creeping edge of suspicion.
"That is a preliminary audit summary of Inversiones San Lucas," I said clearly, letting every word cut through the phone like a scalpel. "It details forty-six million Mexican pesos transferred out of Vanguard’s research budget over the last thirty-six months. It includes the wire receipts signed by your father, the fake clinical safety reports submitted to the FDA, and the names of the three Mexican trial subjects who suffered brain hemorrhages while testing your defective device."
Silence. Complete, suffocating, dead silence on the other end of the line.
I could hear Sebastian’s shallow, frantic breathing.
"Where... where did you get those?" he whispered, his voice trembling now, devoid of all his former bravado.
"I didn't get them from anywhere, Sebastian," I said softly. "I found them six months ago while you were out at dinner boasting about your genius. You thought I was sitting at home filing receipts, remember? You thought I was just your quiet, obedient little accountant wife."
"Mariana..." he stammered, his voice cracking. "Listen to me... we can talk about this. We’re family. You don't know what my father did—he set up those offshore entities, not me! If this gets out, the company is ruined! I'll go to prison!"
"You should have thought about that before you put your hands on me in front of your family," I replied coldly.
"Mariana, please!" he begged, his arrogance completely evaporating into pathetic, desperate pleading. "Name your price! Whatever you want! Ten million? Twenty million? I’ll unlock the accounts, I’ll give you the Hamptons house, just retract the SEC memo! Please!"
"I don't want your money, Sebastian," I said, leaning over the table. "I have my own. What I want is to watch you and your father burn."
I hung up the phone.
I turned to Julian and Clara, who were watching me with sharp, proud smiles.
"He’s panicking," Clara said. "He’s going to run to Arthur."
"Good," I said, pulling my blazer on. "Because Arthur is the real target. Arthur thinks he’s untouchable because he’s spent forty years hiding his corruption behind his old-money reputation and his helpless wife. It’s time we pay Eleanor a visit."
"How are we going to get onto Arthur’s estate in Westchester?" Julian asked. "He has private security at the gates twenty-four hours a day."
I pulled out the burner phone and checked a fresh message from Daniel:
May you like
“Arthur just left the estate for an emergency meeting with his criminal defense attorneys in the city. Renata is with him. Eleanor is completely alone at the house with the housekeepers. I’ve left the side service gate unlocked.”
I looked at my brother. "We’re going to rescue my mother-in-law."
