Chapter 6 - The Fall of Bennett Import-ExportBy 9:00 P.M. Tokyo time, the legal execution managed by Lucas Vance from Chicago had completely dismantled the Bennett family's corporate and personal world.
Because Ethan, Susan, and Chloe possessed zero valid return tickets and zero active credit cards—every card in their wallets having been issued under the Sterling umbrella—they were detained in the private security holding zone at Narita Airport.
Sitting on cold steel benches under the glare of fluorescent lights, surrounded by Japanese immigration officers, Ethan was forced to watch his company’s final destruction on Sarah Croft's encrypted tablet screen.
The live financial news feeds burned with high-definition headlines:
BENNETT IMPORT-EXPORT ENTERS IMMEDIATE CHAPTER 7 LIQUIDATION
FEDERAL MARSHALS SEIZE CHICAGO WAREHOUSES FOLLOWING $1.4M CREDIT RECALL
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS ETHAN BENNETT AND SUSAN BENNETT FACING FEDERAL WIRE FRAUD INDICTMENTS
"No... no..." Ethan wept, dropping his face into his hands, his body shaking with raw, uncontrollable sobs. "Everything... everything is gone..."
"Your warehouses in Chicago have been auctioned to Vance Logistics," Sarah Croft reported flatly, tapping the tablet screen. "The three-hundred-thousand-dollar Shanghai inventory has been seized by federal asset receivers. And your personal penthouse in Lincoln Park—which was pledged as secondary collateral for the Sterling credit line—has been sealed."
Susan lay curled on the bench, weeping hysterically, her silk scarf stained with tears and sweat. "Where... where are we supposed to live?! We have no money! We can't even pay for a hotel in Tokyo!"
Lucas Vance’s voice echoed clearly through the speakerphone resting on the table.
"Under Japanese Immigration Law," Lucas noted deadpan, "individuals without valid secondary transit tickets or financial guarantees are placed on basic commercial deportee transports. We have generously authorized one-way economy tickets for Ethan, Susan, and Chloe Bennett on a cargo transfer flight returning to Chicago tomorrow morning."
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Ethan looked up with bloodshot, hollow eyes. "Economy... cargo flight...?"
"You'll sit in the back row near the lavatories, Ethan," I said softly, standing near the doorway of the holding room, holding my cashmere shawl around my shoulders. "Just like you left me behind a dirty curtain in Bangkok."
