Chapter 3 - The War Room
The subterranean levels of Vanguard Manor were a stark contrast to the gilded opulence above. It was a bunker of glass, steel, and high-frequency trading monitors. This was Vivienne’s war room.
At 2:00 AM, while the last of the gala guests were retrieving their mink coats, Vivienne stood before a massive wall of digital displays, her midnight-blue gown replaced by a sharp, tailored black suit.
"Status," she commanded.
Her chief intelligence officer, David, typed frantically on his keyboard. "The paternity suit is real, Ms. Vanguard. Filed under seal, but it will be unsealed at 8:00 AM Monday. Julian has been quietly buying up proxy votes for the last six months. He currently controls thirty-eight percent of the board. If this scandal breaks, he only needs three more board members to flip to secure a majority and oust you as CEO."
"He found the girl to create the panic," Vivienne deduced, pacing the floor. "He doesn't care about her claim to the estate. He only cares about the instability she causes to the company."
"What do we do about the diamond?" David asked nervously. "If it's the real Vanguard Tear..."
"It is," Vivienne said flatly. "My father gave it to that woman twenty years ago. I knew about her. I knew about the child. I paid the mother ten million dollars to disappear when my father died. Apparently, the daughter decided ten million wasn't enough."
David stared at her, shocked by the revelation, but he knew better than to question her. "Julian’s capital is too deep, Vivienne. If he launches the takeover, we don't have the liquid assets to fight a proxy war and a public scandal simultaneously."
Vivienne stopped pacing. Her eyes narrowed into dangerous, analytical slits.
"Julian Thorne is a vulture," she murmured. "And vultures only circle when they smell blood. We don't fight the proxy war, David. We poison his capital."
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"Poison it? How?"
"Julian just secured a massive influx of cash from a private equity firm in Geneva to fund this takeover," Vivienne explained, her brilliant mind connecting the invisible dots of the financial underworld. "I want you to hack the Geneva firm’s routing numbers. Find out where that money actually originated. Julian is arrogant. He cuts corners. I guarantee you that money is dirty. Find the dirt, David. Dig until your hands bleed."
