Chapter 2 - The Freezing of the Empire
By midnight, the Grand Palace Hotel was empty, but the war had just begun.
My mother was resting comfortably in the private medical wing of the Vance Estate in Pacific Heights—a forty-room stone mansion overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge that Garrett had spent three years believing was a private museum owned by a European duke. Dr. Harrison had treated the concussion on her forehead and wrapped her bruised wrist, declaring her stable, though her spirit remained deeply wounded.
I sat in the mahogany-paneled library on the second floor, wearing a tailored black silk pantsuit. On the grand desk before me sat four high-definition monitors displaying the real-time financial metrics of Lawson Dynamics.
Arthur Vance walked in, carrying two silver trays of tea and a thick leather-bound dossier.
"The initial financial strikes have been executed, Miss Vance," Arthur reported smoothly. "Northern Star Capital has formally called in the eighty-million-dollar convertible notes. Since Lawson Dynamics defaulted on its quarterly governance reporting last week, we invoked the acceleration clause."
"What is their current cash position?" I asked, sipping my tea.
"Zero," Arthur smiled grimly. "Garrett tried to transfer five million dollars from the corporate operating account to his personal account at Swiss First Bank at 10:30 PM. The system automatically flagged the transfer and froze the funds under the emergency fraud injunction we secured from Judge Miller."
"And Victoria?"
"Victoria Lawson was currently at the Cartier boutique on Rodeo Drive placing a deposit on a sixty-carat diamond brooch for her upcoming birthday," Arthur continued. "Her black titanium card was declined three minutes ago. When she called the concierge, she was informed that the card was a secondary line attached to your private trust, which has been terminated."
A quiet knock sounded at the library door. My chief of security, Marcus, stepped inside.
"Miss Vance," Marcus said, bowing slightly. "Mr. Lawson is at the front gatehouse. He’s been screaming into the intercom for twenty minutes, demanding to see you and the baby."
I set my teacup down with a light clink.
"The baby is sound asleep in the nursery with his nanny," I said, my voice hardening. "Does Garrett really think he can claim parental rights after what he did tonight?"
"He brought his corporate legal counsel, Donald Sterling," Marcus added. "They are threatening to call the police and media, claiming you kidnapped his son."
I stood up, smoothing the front of my jacket. "Let them in. But only into the gatehouse reception room. I want this recorded on every high-definition camera we own."
Five minutes later, I walked down the marble steps of the estate toward the glass-walled reception building near the iron gates.
Garrett was pacing the floor like a caged animal. His hair was disheveled, his expensive tuxedo jacket was wrinkled, and his left jaw was dark purple where my fist had struck him. Beside him stood Donald Sterling, a notorious, sleazy corporate attorney known for aggressive public relations tactics.
"Evelyn!" Garrett yelled the moment I walked through the door. He lunged forward, but Marcus instantly stepped into his path, placing a heavy hand on Garrett's chest and forcing him back three feet.
"Keep your hands to yourself, Mr. Lawson," Marcus warned softly.
"Evelyn, this has gone too far!" Garrett shouted, his voice cracking with hysterical rage. "You lied to me! You impersonated a poor person! You committed fraud by concealing your assets during our marriage!"
"I didn't conceal anything, Garrett," I said, sitting down behind the glass desk and crossing my legs. "Our prenuptial agreement specifically states that any assets held in pre-marital irrevocable trusts remain the sole property of the original trustee. You signed that agreement three years ago without even reading it because you were so convinced I had nothing worth stealing."
Donald Sterling stepped forward, clearing his throat loudly. "Mrs. Lawson—"
"Miss Vance," I corrected him instantly. "The divorce petition was filed forty-five minutes ago under my maiden name."
"Miss Vance," Sterling adjusted his tie, trying to maintain an intimidating posture. "My client is the legal father of little Leo. If you do not immediately surrender the child for his scheduled parental access period, we will file an emergency petition for sole custody based on parental alienation and physical assault. We have four hundred witnesses who saw you strike my client tonight."
I looked at Sterling, then slowly turned my gaze to Garrett. A dark, terrifying smile touched my lips.
"Four hundred witnesses?" I asked gently. "Four hundred witnesses who also saw Garrett kick a chair out from under a sixty-year-old woman? Four hundred witnesses who heard him call her 'trailer-park trash' while she lay bleeding on the floor?"
Garrett swallowed hard, his confidence wavering.
"And as for your tech company, Garrett," I continued, pulling a document from my folder. "Lawson Dynamics relies entirely on three software patents registered under the name 'E. Vance.' You thought those patents belonged to the company. They don't. They were licensed to Lawson Dynamics on a month-to-month basis for a fee of one dollar."
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Garrett’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated terror. "What... what are you saying?"
"I am saying," I whispered, leaning over the desk, "that as of midnight, your license has expired. The proprietary code that runs your entire server infrastructure now belongs exclusively to Vance Global. By 8:00 AM tomorrow, your servers will be wiped clean. You don't have a company anymore, Garrett. You don't even have a website."
