Chapter 6 - A Public Eviction
By Wednesday, the legal wheels were turning at a devastating speed. Since I held the fifty-one percent majority voting rights in Hawthorne Logistics—a gift from my grandfather who knew my father was a terrible businessman—the corporate board had no choice but to accept the liquidation protocol I had initiated.
At 10:00 a.m., I arrived at the company's main headquarters in Brentwood, accompanied by three private security guards and a forensic accountant I had hired from Atlanta.
When I walked into the executive suite, my father was sitting at his desk, his eyes bloodshot, a half-empty bottle of whiskey sitting next to his computer. My mother was pacing the floor, her designer purse clutched against her chest like a shield.
"Emily!" my mother gasped, rushing toward me. "Thank God you're here. You have to stop this. The moving trucks are downstairs! The bank has frozen our personal credit cards because of Charles Reed's lawsuit!"
"I know," I said, gesturing for my security guards to stand at the door. "I'm the one who authorized the asset freeze, Mom. As the majority shareholder, I’m responsible for mitigating losses before the federal bankruptcy court steps in."
My father stood up, his hands trembling as he pointed a finger at me. "You are destroying this family, Emily! Over a petty grudge! People cheat every day! It’s an everyday occurrence in high society! Nathan was willing to do right by the business, and you’ve ruined us!"
"He didn't just cheat, Dad," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper as I stepped up to his desk. "He cheated with your other daughter. And you tried to buy her silence so you could use my body and my marriage vows as collateral for a bank loan. That’s not a mistake. That’s human trafficking under a floral arch."
My accountant began systematically pulling hard drives from the server rack in the corner.
"What are you doing?" my father yelled, trying to push past the guards. "Those are corporate assets!"
"Those are evidence," I corrected him. "I’ve spent the last forty-eight hours reviewing the secondary ledgers. You didn't just take a bridge loan from Charles Reed, Dad. You've been funneling employee retirement funds into your personal account to pay for Olivia's luxury condo in the Gulch. That’s a federal crime."
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My mother went completely white, dropping her purse onto the floor. "Emily... please. She’s your sister. She’s pregnant. She has no money, no job... Nathan’s family won't even answer her calls now."
"Then I suggest she starts looking for a job that allows her to sit down," I said, turning my back on them. "Security, please escort Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne out of the building. They are no longer authorized to be on the premises."
