Chapter 6 - THE MONTIGUE COLLAPSE
By 8:00 AM the following morning, news of the Montigue family’s ruin sent shockwaves through the financial district.
Inside the glass-walled penthouse office of Montigue Shipping, Arthur Montigue—Serena’s father—was frantically pacing across his Persian rug, screaming into his encrypted phone.
"What do you mean the accounts are frozen?!" Arthur roared, his face flushed red. "Unfreeze them! We have three cargo ships docked in the bay right now carrying forty million dollars in foreign capital!"
"I can't do that, Mr. Montigue," his CFO's terrified voice quavered over the speaker. "The federal port authorities revoked our clearance twenty minutes ago. And... Mr. Montigue... look out your window."
Arthur froze. He slowly turned toward the floor-to-ceiling glass panel looking down at the street below.
Four black SUVs with tinted windows were parked diagonally across the building's main entrance, blocking every lane. Eight tall men in dark wool coats stepped out, led by Mikhail.
Before Arthur could hit his desk intercom to call private security, his heavy oak office doors were blown off their hinges with a deafening metallic thud.
Mikhail stepped through the dust, tossing a thick black folder onto Arthur's glass desk.
"W-what is the meaning of this?!" Arthur stammered, backing toward his window. "Where is Serena?! She went to Victor’s estate yesterday and hasn't returned!"
"Your daughter broke the arm of Victor Blackwood’s heir," Mikhail stated flatly, pulling a pair of leather gloves tight over his knuckles. "And then she tried to murder the boy's caretaker."
Arthur’s breath caught in his throat. "She... she what?"
May you like
"As of five minutes ago," Mikhail continued, "every warehouse owned by Montigue Shipping has been seized by the syndicate. Your port contracts belong to the Blackwood Trust. You have two hours to sign the surrender agreement, Arthur. Or you can join your daughter in the holding cells."
Arthur collapsed into his leather chair, trembling violently as he realized the horrific truth. Serena hadn't just ruined her own marriage—she had erased her entire bloodline from Chicago in a single afternoon.
