Chapter 36 - The Retribution Protocol
Arthur Vance's face on the silent video monitor twisted in sheer, unadulterated fury. He leaned into the camera, his mouth moving in silent, venomous curses, before he angrily severed the satellite feed, leaving the screen completely black.
"He's panicking," Frank said, checking the tactical relay. "When an animal like Arthur Vance panics, he doesn't retreat. He tries to burn the forest down behind him."
"He doesn't have the fuel," I said, turning back to the Swiss solicitors. "Gentlemen, initiate Phase Two. I want every foreclosure notice Arthur Vance has filed against independent homeowners in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey bought out immediately under the Sovereign Trust umbrella. Convert every single one of those predatory notes into thirty-year fixed zero-interest mortgages."
The senior attorney smiled faintly—a rare, genuine expression on a face that looked carved from granite. "A brilliant defensive stroke, Mrs. Vance-Miller. By converting his debt portfolio into sovereign-guaranteed charitable assets, we strip his holding company of its collateral base before the New York Stock Exchange opens in forty minutes."
"And Chloe's family?" David asked quietly, looking down at the floor.
I looked at my son. "What do you want to do with them, David?"
David swallowed hard. He walked back over to Leo's bassinet, gently brushing his thumb across our sleeping baby's cheek. "Her parents knew. When Chloe took my keys to the house, her father called me and told me I was 'lucky' his daughter was willing to stay with a man who couldn't even afford to buy his own property. They helped her copy the trust documents from your safe."
He looked up at me, his eyes hard. "Let the legal process take its course, Mom. Don't shield them. If they signed criminal affidavits, let them answer to the magistrate."
"Spoken like a man," Frank said quietly, placing a heavy hand on David's shoulder.
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"We leave for New York within the hour," I announced, snapping the leather ledger shut. "Vance is going to make one final attempt to force a settlement before the federal courts open tomorrow morning. He will be at his primary fortress—the Manhattan Tower. He thinks he can still bully us into a compromise."
"We won't be going alone," Frank said, dialing a secure number on his satellite phone. "The old guard from the Department of Justice has been waiting forty years for this paper trail. By the time our Gulfstream touches down at Teterboro, Vance won't just be facing civil bankruptcy. He'll be facing high treason."
