Chapter 5 - THE EMBEZZLER’S LAST CARDWhen the elevator doors opened on floor thirty-eight, the sound of shouting reverberated down the hallway.
Ryan Bennett was standing outside the main server room, flanked by two aggressive-looking private attorneys and a man named Victor Vance—a notorious hard-money lender from the south side of Chicago.
"I own fifty percent of this infrastructure!" Ryan was screaming at our building security guards. "My name is on the server leases! You can't lock me out!"
"Actually, Ryan," I spoke up, stepping out of the elevator alongside Dominic, "your name was removed from those leases at midnight."
Ryan spun around, his eyes wild, his tie undone, looking like a man who had completely lost his mind.
"Vivian!" Ryan pointed a shaking finger at me. "You think you're so smart because you got Dominic Bell to fight your battles! But you made a mistake! You forgot about the cross-collateral agreement we signed last year!"
Victor Vance—the loan shark—stepped forward, pulling a crumpled legal document from his leather jacket.
"Ms. Carter," Victor Vance said in a raspy, nicotine-stained voice. "Your ex-fiancé borrowed eight million dollars from my firm six months ago. He put up the Carter Enterprise server infrastructure and client database as primary collateral. The loan is in default as of nine o'clock this morning."
Madison stepped out from behind Victor Vance, wearing dark sunglasses, her arms crossed defensively.
"You thought you could ruin us, Vivian?" Madison sneered. "If Victor forecloses on those servers, Carter Enterprises loses every single client in Chicago by noon. You’ll be bankrupt before the market closes!"
My heart skipped a beat.
I remembered signing a stack of campaign paperwork for Ryan last spring. He had slipped a cross-collateral rider into a pile of routine insurance forms while I was sick with the flu.
Ryan laughed—a manic, desperate sound. "Give me back my PAC shares, Vivian! Cancel the legal charges, or I let Victor wipe your servers clean!"
I turned to Dominic, my pulse racing. "Is... is the loan valid?"
Dominic didn't look worried at all. He casually reached into his inner jacket pocket, pulled out a gold leather wallet, and extracted a single, black platinum corporate card.
He walked past Ryan, stepping straight up to Victor Vance.
"Victor," Dominic said smoothly. "How much is the outstanding debt, including interest and penalties?"
Victor Vance blinked, taken aback by Dominic’s calm presence. "Uh... nine point two million, Mr. Bell."
Dominic handed him the platinum card. "Process the full payment immediately. Add a five-hundred-thousand-dollar fee for your trouble, and transfer the master debt note into my personal name."
Victor’s eyes bulged. "Nine point two million... paid right now?"
"Right now," Dominic confirmed. "Do we have a deal?"
Victor didn't hesitate for a single second. He took the card, swiped it on his mobile terminal, signed the digital receipt, and handed the original loan papers directly to Dominic.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Bell," Victor said, turning on his heel and walking toward the stairs, completely abandoning Ryan and Madison.
Ryan stared at the empty hallway, his jaw hanging open in utter disbelief. "Victor! Wait! You can't just sell the debt!"
Dominic folded the loan papers, tucked them into his pocket, and looked down at Ryan.
"Now, Ryan," Dominic murmured softly. "You don't owe money to a loan shark anymore. You owe nine point two million dollars directly to me. And as your primary creditor..."
Dominic turned to the two uniformed police officers who had just stepped out of the second elevator.
"...I am filing immediate criminal charges for commercial extortion."
"No! NO! VIVIAN, PLEASE!" Ryan screamed as the officers stepped forward, twisting his arms behind his back and snapping heavy steel handcuffs around his wrists. "VIVIAN! WE WERE GOING TO GET MARRIED! PLEASE TELL THEM TO STOP!"
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Madison screamed as a female officer grabbed her arm. "Get your hands off me! I’m a Carter! You can't arrest me!"
I stood beside Dominic, watching quietly as my ex-fiance and my sister were dragged into the elevator, their pathetic, echoing cries fading as the steel doors closed shut.
