Chapter 6 - The Ultimatum
The line went dead with a sharp click.
For three seconds, Thomas didn't move. He stood frozen by the glass window, looking down at the tiny cars crawling along the snow-choked avenue far below. Then, slowly, a cold, calculated fury settled over him—the kind of absolute ruthlessness that had allowed him to crush corporate rivals twice his age during the height of his career.
He hit the intercom button.
“Karen.”
“Yes, Mr. Beckett?”
“Cancel my afternoon schedule. Tell the board meeting to reschedule for next Tuesday. And call Marcus Vance’s defense attorney and let him know that if his client doesn't cooperate fully with the federal prosecutor within the hour, I will personally ensure he spends the next twenty years sharing a cell with violent offenders.”
“Right away, sir,” Karen replied, her voice trembling slightly at the edge in his tone.
Thomas picked up his desk phone and reconnected to Arthur Garrison.
“Arthur, are you still there?”
“I’m here, Thomas. You sound like you just saw a ghost. What happened?”
“I just received a call from the people holding Derek’s fraudulent second mortgage,” Thomas said flatly. “They want the property signed over to their holding corporation by sundown tomorrow, or they intend to pay a physical visit to Sarah and the baby.”
Garrison swore loudly on the other end of the line. “That’s extortion. That’s a federal threat. Did you trace the call?”
“It was a burner line, but my security team can track the cell tower ping within twenty minutes,” Thomas said, grabbing his wool overcoat off the rack. “More importantly, Arthur, I want every single corporate asset, tax identification number, and offshore shell company associated with that Camden lending syndicate pulled and laid out on my desk before three o'clock.”
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“Thomas, what are you planning to do?” Garrison asked nervously. “Those aren’t corporate bureaucrats you can sue in civil court. Those are violent operators.”
“I’m not going to sue them,” Thomas said, buttoning his coat with sharp, precise movements. “I’m going to buy them.”
