Chapter 8 - THE BLACKMAIL AT TOWER 4
By Wednesday afternoon, the news of the frozen accounts hit the Wall Street wire services. Vance & Co. stock tumbled eight percent in off-hours trading, and the company's board of directors called an emergency session for Thursday morning.
I was sitting in Marcus Vance’s corner office on the forty-fifth floor of Tower 4 when my personal phone vibrated on the glass desk.
It was an unknown number. I pressed answer and set it on speaker.
"Emma," Celeste’s voice came through the line, sharp and laced with toxic panic. "You think you've won because a judge froze Nathan's accounts? You have no idea what you've just started."
"You notarized a forged document, Celeste," I replied calmly, leaning back in the leather chair. "That's a Class D felony. You'll be lucky if you only get five years."
"Listen to me, you arrogant little heiress," Celeste hissed. "Nathan was a puppet. I have the original medical records from the Zurich facility. I have the wire receipts signed by your mother transferring company funds to hide Victor Vance. If you don't drop the injunction and sign over thirty percent of the equity by midnight, I will send those files directly to the SEC and the Federal Prosecutor."
Marcus signaled for me to keep her talking while his paralegal initiated a call trace.
"If you leak those files, Celeste," I said coldly, "you destroy the company's value, which means the shares you stole become worthless."
"I don't care about the shares anymore!" Celeste snapped, her voice cracking. "Nathan's creditors aren't bank lenders, Emma. They are offshore private equity enforcers. If they don't get their forty million dollars by Friday at 5:00 PM, they won't just liquidate the jewelry inventory—they will destroy everyone involved. Including you."
A chill ran down my spine. "Where are you, Celeste?"
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"Meet me at the pier on West 42nd Street in one hour," Celeste commanded. "Bring the signed withdrawal papers for the injunction, or I upload the Zurich files to every news outlet in Manhattan."
The line went dead.
