Chapter 14 - The Ledger of Treason
At 8:30 AM on Wednesday, the grand marble lobby of the Montgomery Financial Tower on LaSalle Street was filled with flashing cameras, federal marshals, and terrified bank executives.
Inside the thirty-foot glass executive boardroom on the top floor, seventy-two-year-old Arthur Montgomery sat at the head of the mahogany conference table, his hands trembling as he stared at the glowing red terminal screen before him.
ACCOUNT STATUS: FROZEN BY COURT RECEIVERSHIP.
TOTAL BALANCE DUE: $64,200,000.00.
DEADLINE: EXPIRED.
The double frosted-glass doors of the boardroom were thrown open.
Gabriel walked into the room, flanked by Marcus and three armed federal investigators. Behind them walked Elena, wearing a tailored navy wool overcoat, holding a leather litigation folio.
Arthur Montgomery sprang to his feet, knocking his crystal water glass onto the table, sending water spilling across his quarterly reports.
"Gabriel!" Arthur gasped, his voice cracking into a high, panicked wheeze. "What is the meaning of this intrusion?! Your father and I were partners for thirty years! You cannot execute an acceleration clause on our commercial debt without board approval!"
"The board approved it at six o'clock this morning, Arthur," Elena spoke, stepping forward and placing the certified proxy resolutions on the table. "Because as of sunrise, Vance Maritime owns eighty-two percent of your company's commercial paper."
Arthur grabbed the edge of the conference table to keep from collapsing, looking desperately at Gabriel.
"Gabriel... please. We can settle this privately! I will return the St. Lawrence freight routes! I will transfer our real estate in Lake Forest!"
Gabriel stopped three feet from the disgraced banker, towering over him like an apex predator looking down upon a cornered jackal.
"You funded the men who broke into my home, Arthur," Gabriel whispered, every word hitting with the force of an iron hammer. "You paid the guards who kept my five-year-old son locked in a windowless room, terrified of the sound of footsteps. You don't get a private settlement."
Special Agent Hayes stepped forward, pulling a pair of polished steel handcuffs from his belt.
"Arthur Montgomery," Agent Hayes announced. "You are under arrest for federal bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit corporate extortion. Place your hands behind your back."
May you like
Click. Click.
The sound of the cuffs locking around Arthur’s wrists echoed through the executive suite as he was led out through the doors in full view of the seventy employees he had spent decades manipulating.
