Chapter 13 - MONDAY MORNING
At 7:43 Monday morning, Arthur walked into Vance Meridian headquarters.
Employees stared.
News vans already crowded the street.
Daniel had leaked the scandal overnight.
Online headlines accused Arthur of misusing family trust assets.
His photograph appeared beside words like FRAUD, SUCCESSION CRISIS and SECRET PATERNITY BATTLE.
At 7:52, Arthur entered the boardroom.
Daniel Mercer sat at the far end of the table.
Perfect suit.
Perfect tie.
Perfect smile.
“Arthur.”
Arthur sat opposite him.
“Daniel.”
“I’m glad you came voluntarily.”
“You kidnapped my son.”
Several directors looked shocked.
Daniel chuckled.
“Careful. Defamation won’t help your position.”
Arthur placed Rachel’s journal on the table.
Daniel’s smile weakened.
Then Arthur placed Elena’s flash drive beside it.
Daniel stopped smiling completely.
“You should have left my family alone.”
Daniel leaned back.
“You never understood your family.”
“No. I understood it too late.”
At 8:00 sharp, the scheduled twenty-eight-million-dollar trust transfer initiated.
Daniel glanced at his phone.
A notification arrived.
TRANSFER PROCESSING.
He smiled again.
Arthur didn’t move.
At 8:01, Rebecca activated the financial trap.
The transfer entered a controlled holding channel authorized by federal investigators.
To Daniel, it appeared successful.
To the shell company, nothing arrived.
At 8:05, Daniel received another message.
His eyes narrowed.
Arthur noticed.
“Problem?”
Daniel said nothing.
At 8:10, federal agents arrested Samuel Price downstairs.
At 8:12, Victor Shaw surrendered additional records.
At 8:14, Elena signed a cooperation agreement.
At 8:17, Peter Caldwell entered sublevel three with cybersecurity investigators.
Daniel’s phone kept vibrating.
Arthur watched panic slowly replace confidence.
At 8:25, Daniel stood.
“This meeting is over.”
“No,” Arthur said.
Daniel looked at him.
“It’s just beginning.”
The boardroom doors opened.
Two federal agents stepped inside.
Daniel laughed.
“You have no idea how protected I am.”
Rebecca entered behind them.
“We do, actually.”
She placed an arrest warrant on the table.
Daniel scanned it.
Wire fraud.
Conspiracy.
Kidnapping.
Identity fraud.
Financial crimes.
He looked at Arthur.
“You think this saves your company?”
Arthur’s expression changed.
Daniel smiled.
“You forgot Peter’s fail-safe.”
Arthur glanced at the clock.
8:29.
Downstairs, Peter was fighting through Daniel’s code.
Rebecca received an update through her earpiece.
“Two minutes.”
Daniel noticed.
His smile widened.
“You’re too late.”
At exactly 8:30, alarms sounded throughout Vance Meridian headquarters.
Arthur’s phone lit up.
LIQUIDITY EVENT DETECTED.
AUTHORIZED PAYMENTS: $196,400,000.
Rebecca swore.
“Peter hasn’t stopped it.”
Daniel stood.
“Arrest me.”
He held out his hands.
“By lunch, Arthur won’t have a company left to return to.”
Federal agents cuffed him.
Arthur looked at the payment screen.
$196.4 million.
Processing.
Then the lights flickered.
Every screen in the boardroom went black.
For five terrifying seconds, there was silence.
Then the emergency system restarted.
Arthur’s phone buzzed.
One message appeared.
PAYMENTS CANCELLED.
He stared.
Rebecca received another update.
Her face changed.
“Peter stopped it.”
Arthur exhaled.
Then she listened again.
“What?”
Arthur looked at her.
Rebecca slowly lowered her hand from her earpiece.
“There was a fire in sublevel three.”
Arthur stood.
“Peter?”
May you like
She hesitated.
“He’s still inside.”
