Chapter 6 - The Emergency MeetingOn Saturday morning, my father was discharged from the hospital and immediately summoned an emergency family council at his attorney’s office in downtown Stamford.
They thought they were meeting to discuss bankruptcy protection. They didn't know that Julian and I had bought the law firm’s parent building three hours prior.
When Julian and I walked into the glass-walled conference room, my entire family was already seated around the long oak table.
My mother looked pale and gaunt. Natalie was hyperventilating into a silk handkerchief. Ryan sat with his arms crossed, glaring at me with pure hatred. My father sat at the head of the table, looking frail, his hand trembling as he held a coffee cup.
“Claire,” Thomas croaked, trying to adopt a soft, paternal tone. “Thank God you’re here. We need to handle this together. We are family, after all.”
“Save it, Thomas,” Julian said, pulling out a chair for me before taking his own seat at the head of the table opposite my father. “We aren't here to negotiate your company’s survival.”
Ryan slammed his hands on the table. “You can’t bully us, Mercer! We know what Claire did! Seven years ago, she stole fifty grand! We have the bank records!”
Julian didn't look flustered. He signaled to Rebecca Vance, who stood near the door. She walked forward and laid five thick leather-bound binders in front of Ryan, Thomas, and their attorney.
“Those are the forensic bank records, Ryan,” Rebecca stated coldly. “Including IP addresses, signature cards, and digital routing numbers. Every single transaction from the account in Claire’s name was initiated from your personal laptop and authorized via Thomas’s master security key.”
Ryan’s face turned from red to ash white.
“Furthermore,” Rebecca continued, “we have sworn affidavits from the pit boss at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City confirming that Thomas Bennett personally settled your gambling markers using cashier's checks drawn from Bennett Logistics’ employee pension fund.”
My mother gasped, dropping her glass. “Thomas... the pension fund? You said that was invested in treasury bonds!”
Thomas couldn't speak. He stared at the documents as if they were venomous snakes.
“You have two choices, Thomas,” Julian said, leaning back in his leather chair. “Option one: you sign over 100% of Bennett Logistics’ remaining assets to a liquidating trust managed by Claire. The proceeds will be used to pay off your employees’ pensions and clear the debt owed to the creditors. You and Ryan walk away with no criminal charges, but you leave with nothing.”
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“And option two?” Thomas whispered.
“Option two,” Julian’s eyes narrowed into slits of dark obsidian, “is that my legal team hands these binders to the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut in thirty minutes. You and Ryan will be indicted by nightfall, facing up to twenty years in federal prison.”
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