Chapter 7 - When Rats Turn on Each Other
Adrian and Celeste froze, staring at the front door as if it had transformed
into a guillotine.
The heavy knocking repeated, louder and more insistent. "Open the door, or we
will authorize the building superintendent to force entry!"
Adrian scrambled toward the rear balcony, his mind racing with panicked,
animalistic desperation. "Don't open it," he whispered fiercely to Celeste. "If
they serve us the personal bankruptcy notices, our corporate immunity
evaporates!"
"Are you insane?" Celeste hissed back, pushing past him to the front door. "I'm
not going to jail for contempt of court because of you!"
She unlocked the deadbolt and yanked the door open.
Standing in the hallway were two uniformed sheriff’s deputies, accompanied by a
woman in a sharp grey pantsuit holding a stack of legal binders.
"Celeste Grant?" the woman asked, stepping across the threshold without waiting
for an invitation.
"Yes, but—"
"I am Special Process Server Miller, acting on behalf of the Vance Conglomerate
and Sterling Legal Associates. You are hereby served with a civil summons for
Grand Larceny, Corporate Embezzlement, Copyright Infringement, and Intentional
Interference with Contractual Relations."
Miller thrust a four-inch-thick binder into Celeste's numb arms.
"Furthermore," Miller continued, turning her gaze toward Adrian, who stood
trapped in the hallway, "Mr. Adrian Cole. You are served with an emergency
notice of Special Shareholder Meeting regarding your immediate termination for
cause as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Cole & Vance Developments."
"Special meeting?" Adrian stammered, his voice dry as sand. "The bylaws require
a fourteen-day notice period for any board vote! I hold forty percent of the
voting shares!"
Miller offered a thin, humorless smile. "Clause 22 of the Vance-Cole Master
Charter specifies that in the event of an active federal indictment or
documented misappropriation of company collateral, the fourteen-day notice
period is waived. The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM in
Boardroom A at Vance Tower."
Miller turned back to Celeste. "And Miss Grant, the building management has been
provided with a copy of the asset freeze order. The locks on this unit will be
changed at 5:00 PM today. You are permitted to take one suitcase of personal
clothing. All luxury goods, jewelry, and electronics purchased after June 1st of
this year are subject to the court’s protective lien and must remain on the
premises."
"No!" Celeste shrieked, running toward her walk-in closet. "My Birkin bags! My
Chanel coats! I bought those!"
"With stolen trust fund capital," Miller replied flatly. "A certified inventory
auditor is already waiting in the lobby with packing crates. Touch any cataloged
asset, and you will be arrested for grand theft on the spot."
Celeste dropped to her knees in the middle of the hallway, clutching her hair
and sobbing hysterically.
Adrian didn't look at her. He clutched the termination summons in his hand, his
eyes scanning the location: Boardroom A, Vance Tower.
The board, Adrian thought, a desperate spark of madness igniting in his chest.
The board is made up of my old college fraternity brothers and real estate
allies. I appointed half of them myself. Vivian thinks she can walk in there
with Raymond Sterling and intimidate them, but those men answer to profit, not
sentiment.
May you like
If I can hold the board tomorrow morning, Adrian told himself, his knuckles
turning white, I can override her freeze, countersue the trust, and force her
into a settlement.
He stepped over Celeste's sobbing form without a single word of comfort, pulled
open the door, and walked out into the cold New York drizzle, determined to
stage his final stand.
