Chapter 3 - The Wolves Gather
By 6:00 AM the next morning, the sun rose over the glass skyscrapers of downtown Dallas.
Adrian Cross arrived at his corporate office on the forty-second floor of Cross & Mercer Financial.
He adjusted his cufflinks, feeling a surge of arrogant confidence.
Evelyn was still trapped in the hospital under observation. He had already instructed his lawyers to file for an emergency restraining order and temporary sole custody of the unborn child.
He walked into the executive boardroom, expecting to see his morning coffee waiting on the polished mahogany table.
Instead, he saw three men in dark charcoal suits sitting in total silence.
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling glass window, looking out over the Dallas skyline with a glass of scotch in his hand, was a tall man with silver hair and eyes as sharp as razors.
Arthur Vance.
Adrian froze.
The coffee mug in his hand wobbled slightly.
"F-Father-in-law?" Adrian stuttered, forcing a plastic smile onto his face. "Arthur! I… I didn't know you were back in the States. Evelyn didn't mention—"
Arthur didn't turn around immediately.
He took a slow sip of his whiskey, letting the silence stretch until the air in the room felt heavy enough to choke on.
When Arthur finally turned around, he didn't look angry.
He looked bored.
Which was infinitely terrifying.
"Sit down, Adrian," Arthur said softly.
Adrian hesitated, looking at the three men at the table. He recognized one of them—Marcus Vance, Arthur’s chief legal strategist and notorious corporate assassin.
"Arthur, if this is about Evelyn," Adrian began, trying to sound like a concerned husband, "there was a terrible misunderstanding at the hospital yesterday. Evelyn has been under immense emotional distress. She had an episode, and—"
CLANG!
Arthur slammed his crystal glass onto the table so hard the amber liquid splashed across the polished wood.
"Do not speak her name with that filthy mouth of yours," Arthur said. His voice wasn't raised, but it carried the authority of a judge handing down a death sentence.
Adrian swallowed hard. "Arthur, you disowned her! You haven't spoken to her in three years!"
"I cut her off financially so she would learn how to spot parasites like you," Arthur replied coldly. "I never stopped watching. I never stopped protecting my blood."
Arthur motioned to the attorney sitting on his right.
"Marcus. Read him the menu."
Marcus opened a thick leather binder.
"At 4:00 AM today, Vance Enterprises acquired fifty-one percent of the debt held by Cross & Mercer Financial," Marcus said smoothly. "We are now your primary lien holder."
Adrian’s breath hitched. "What? That’s impossible! We just restructured our debt with the Cayman European Bank!"
"The Cayman European Bank is owned by Mercer Holdings," Arthur interrupted, smiling dryly. "And Mercer Holdings was heavily shorted on the London Stock Exchange two hours ago. Sloane Mercer’s father, Richard Mercer, is currently facing a margin call of two hundred million dollars."
Adrian’s phone began to buzz furiously on the table.
It was Sloane.
Then it buzzed again. It was his Chief Financial Officer.
Then again. His bank manager.
Adrian didn't answer. He stared at Arthur in sheer terror.
"You... you destroyed Mercer Holdings in two hours?" Adrian whispered, his face draining of all color.
"Two hours?" Arthur chuckled softly, walking slowly toward Adrian until he was standing inches away from the younger man's face. "No, Adrian. It took me twenty minutes. The rest of the time I was eating breakfast."
Arthur leaned down, his eyes locking onto Adrian’s trembling pupils.
"You thought you were clever, didn't you? You thought you could assault my pregnant daughter in a public hallway, use a crooked security camera feed to frame her as mentally unstable, and steal her inheritance."
"I... I didn't hit her!" Adrian stuttered frantically. "It was Sloane! Sloane acted alone!"
"Ah," Arthur grinned, a terrifying, predatory expression. "There it is. The rat eats its own tail."
Arthur pulled out an iPad from his coat pocket and slid it across the glass table.
On the screen was the audio file Evelyn had recorded on her phone.
The audio played with crystalline clarity:
[Evelyn’s voice]: "I was struck by that woman. My husband witnessed it..."
[Adrian’s voice, whispered in the background]: "You were supposed to wait."
Adrian felt his knees give out. He grabbed the edge of the table to keep from collapsing onto the floor.
"That audio is already with the District Attorney," Arthur said calmly. "And the nurse who witnessed the attack? Her husband happens to be a senior partner at my law firm."
Adrian fell back into a chair, sweat dripping from his forehead onto his designer suit.
"Arthur... please. Evelyn and I... we can work this out. I love her. I was confused! Sloane seduced me, she tricked me into—"
"Save it for the judge," Arthur sneered. "Or rather, save it for the grand jury. Because in exactly ten minutes, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be entering this building to arrest you for wire fraud, corporate embezzlement, and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault."
Right on cue, the distant sound of sirens began to wail down on the streets below.
Arthur picked up his coat, adjusted his fedora, and walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he stopped and looked back at his son-in-law.
"You made one fatal mistake, Adrian."
May you like
Adrian raised his terrified eyes. "What?"
"You forgot whose blood runs through my daughter's veins," Arthur said softly. "She isn't the victim here, Adrian. She was just waiting for me to bring the axes."
