Chapter 10 - The Wolf in Delaware
Z
Within forty-eight hours of Victoria’s visit, Arthur Sterling and our intelligence team had mapped out every node of Damian Vance’s financial assault.
Damian had established Apex Horizon as a Delaware-registered shell entity, using eighty million dollars of leveraged capital borrowed from high-risk offshore lenders in the Cayman Islands. His strategy was classic predatory arbitrage: purchase minor, expired debt covenants from Montgomery Capital’s earliest days, combine them with fabricated claims of insider trading during my marriage to Sterling, and file an emergency federal injunction to freeze Vance Global’s upcoming public listing in London.
On Thursday afternoon, Harrison and I sat in the grand library of our Greenwich estate. The autumn fire crackled in the stone hearth, casting a warm glow over the leather-bound volumes that lined the walls.
Harrison sipped his favorite single-malt scotch, swirling the amber liquid thoughtfully. “Damian was always greedy, Rosie. Even when your father was alive, Damian believed the Vance empire belonged to the loudest man in the room, not the wisest. He thinks because I am older and you are a woman who lived quietly for six years, our armor has rusted.”
“He forgot that steel doesn't rust just because it's kept in a sheath, Grandpa,” I replied, looking over a financial summary on my laptop.
“What is your counter-strategy?” Harrison asked, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
“Damian borrowed eighty million from the Trident Cayman Syndicate to buy this debt,” I explained, sliding the laptop toward him. “Trident is an aggressive high-yield lender, but their primary liquidity provider is Banque Privée de Genève.”
Harrison’s lips curved into a knowing smile. “And who sits on the supervisory board of Banque Privée?”
“You do, Grandpa,” I said with a slight grin. “And Vance Global controls a twenty-two percent voting stake in their asset management arm.”
“So we don't fight the lawsuit in court,” Harrison concluded.
“We don't need to,” I replied, standing up and smoothing down my cashmere sweater. “We pull the foundation out from beneath the predator before he can leap. We execute a targeted margin call on Trident Cayman, forcing them to recall Damian’s eighty-million-dollar loan within twenty-four hours. Damian will be forced to liquidate his entire offshore portfolio just to avoid prison.”
Before Harrison could answer, Hazel walked into the library, carrying a drawing book and a box of crayons. She was wearing her favorite yellow dress, and the thin red bracelet sat snugly against her wrist.
“Mommy, look what I drew!” she announced proudly, running over to the sofa and climbing up beside Harrison.
Harrison immediately set down his glass and wrapped his arm around her. “Let me see this masterpiece, little lady.”
Hazel pointed to the paper. “That’s our house in Newport, that’s you with your walking stick, that’s Mommy wearing her crown, and that’s a big dog keeping the bad wolves away from the garden.”
Harrison let out a hearty, booming laugh that echoed through the vast library. “A big dog keeping the wolves away! Hazel, my dear, you are more perceptive than half the executives on Wall Street.”
I knelt beside Hazel, kissing her cheek. “Sweetheart, no wolves are ever getting into our garden. Mommy and Grandpa have already built the fence.”
“I know,” Hazel smiled sweetly, her eyes sparkling. “Because Mommy is the boss!”
My phone chimed with an encrypted alert from Arthur.
Damian Vance’s legal team has just arrived in Boston. Sterling Montgomery is with them. They have scheduled a press conference outside the Massachusetts Federal Courthouse for tomorrow at 9:00 AM.
May you like
I stood up and kissed the top of Hazel’s head. “Grandpa, have the jet prepped for Boston tonight. I think it’s time we attend a press conference.”
Harrison looked up, his jaw set like iron. “Take Arthur, take our chief security team, and don't leave a single stone unturned, Rosie. Let Damian Vance know that the line of succession was decided long ago.”
