Chapter 5 - The Collapse of Montgomery EnterprisesBy 8:00 AM the following morning, the storm had hit the financial district with devastating speed.
I sat in the corner office of Vance Global Holdings on the 50th floor, sipping warm tea while a team of corporate lawyers laid out thick leather binders on the glass conference table. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city skyline stretched out under a crisp morning sun.
My father sat at the head of the table, reviewing the financial reports.
“Montgomery Enterprises relied on three major lines of credit to maintain their residential construction projects,” Sarah Jenkins, our lead corporate attorney, explained. “Vance Global holds two of those loans directly. The third is held by First National Bank—whose managing board is chaired by your father.”
“Default notices have been issued?” my father asked without looking up.
“Delivered at 7:00 AM,” Sarah confirmed. “Furthermore, once the news broke about the assault charges filed against Eleanor and Chloe Montgomery last night, their stock dropped 35% in pre-market trading. Three major subcontractors have already pulled their crews from the Montgomery downtown construction site.”
My phone, resting on the table, began buzzing incessantly. The screen showed Daniel’s name, followed by sixty missed calls from Eleanor, Chloe, and Daniel’s father, Richard Montgomery.
I ignored them all.
A quiet knock came at the heavy oak office doors, and my father’s secretary stepped inside, looking slightly panicked.
“Mr. Vance, Mrs. Vance... Richard Montgomery and his son Daniel are downstairs in the lobby. They are begging for a five-minute meeting. Security is holding them at the turnstiles.”
My father looked at me. “Do you want to see them, Vivienne?”
I took a quiet breath, feeling a kick from my baby beneath my wool sweater. “Let them up. I want to end this once and for all.”
Five minutes later, Richard Montgomery and Daniel were escorted into the boardroom by two security guards.
Richard, a man who had built his reputation on aristocratic arrogance, looked like a shell of his former self. His suit was rumpled, his hair unkempt. Daniel walked in behind him, his jaw bruised from my father’s slap, his eyes bloodshot and swollen from a night of crying.
The moment Daniel saw me, he took a frantic step forward. “Vivienne! Thank God you’re here! Please, you have to talk to your father! He’s destroying everything!”
“Sit down, Richard,” my father said, ignoring Daniel completely and pointing to the chair at the far end of the table.
Richard sank into the chair, placing his trembling hands flat on the glass surface. “Arthur... please. We’ve known each other in business circles for years. What happened last night was appalling. Eleanor and Chloe acted like barbarians. I had no idea they were treating Vivienne like this!”
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“You knew,” I said firmly, sitting up straight. “You sat at the dinner table six months ago when your wife called my family 'trailer trash' because I didn't want a lavish baby shower. You laughed, Richard.”
Richard’s mouth snapped shut. He looked away, unable to meet my eyes.
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