Chapter 3 - The Morning After the Storm
By 8:00 AM, the financial world was in a state of absolute panic.
The morning news anchor on CNBC was speaking in a rushed, breathless tone: "A stunning overnight development at Halcyon Dynamics. Just hours after celebrating a high-profile engagement between CEO Celeste Vale and co-founder Adrian Vance, the company’s stock has plummeted by forty percent in pre-market trading. Sources report that Northstar Capital, the mysterious venture firm holding eighty-three percent of the company's voting shares, has executed a total withdrawal. Halcyon is facing an immediate liquidity crisis."
I sat in Miriam’s high-rise office, sipping hot tea. On the table lay three separate phones, all of them ringing continuously.
"They're panicking," Miriam said, a satisfied smile playing on her lips. She adjusted her glasses and handed me a tablet. "Celeste’s lawyers have already called me five times. Adrian’s personal lawyer is begging for a meeting. They want to know your terms."
"I don't have terms," I said, setting my teacup down. "I want my money out. I want my father's patents transferred back to my holding company. And I want Adrian to sign the divorce papers."
"He will," Miriam promised. "He has no choice. If he doesn't, the banks will foreclose on his personal assets within forty-eight hours. Since you froze the joint accounts, he can't even afford his defense attorneys."
Just then, the glass door of the office suite burst open.
My assistant tried to stop them, but Adrian and Celeste pushed past her.
Adrian looked terrible. His hair was messy, his eyes bloodshot, and his expensive suit was wrinkled. Celeste, however, still looked like a queen, though her sharp eyes were narrowed in fury.
"Claire!" Adrian yelled, slamming his hands onto Miriam’s conference table. "You have to stop this madness! You're ruining us!"
"Correction, Adrian," I said, looking up calmly. "I am ruining you. I am perfectly fine."
Celeste stepped forward, her voice like ice. "Claire, let's be professional. You're angry because of the personal situation. I get it. But destroying a multi-million dollar company out of spite is childish. We can buy you out. Name your price."
I looked at Celeste. She was smart, but she was arrogant. She still thought this was about a jilted wife wanting a bigger payout.
"You don't have the money to buy me out, Celeste," I said softly. "The five hundred fifty-eight million I withdrew wasn't just on paper. It was the cash collateral for all of Halcyon's current bank loans. Without it, your creditors will call in your debts by noon today. Your family's firm can't cover that. Not without exposing yourselves to bankruptcy."
Celeste’s eyes widened. She turned to Adrian, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "You told me she was just a housewife. You told me she didn't know anything about the business!"
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Adrian couldn't speak. He looked at me as if he were seeing a stranger.
"She didn't just manage the household, Celeste," Miriam intervened, sliding a thick blue binder across the table. "Claire is a certified forensic accountant. She designed the entire financial structure of Halcyon. Adrian was just the handsome face we put on the billboard."
