Chapter 28 - A Dangerous Bluff|
The Grand Hotel ballroom was drowning in gold leaf, crystal chandeliers, and the suffocating perfume of the ultra-rich. Marcus Sterling, a silver-haired man with the cold, dead eyes of a shark, was holding court near the ice sculpture, sipping champagne and laughing with a senator.
The music abruptly stopped.
The heavy double doors of the ballroom swung open, and the crowd parted like the Red Sea. Natalie walked down the grand staircase, her crimson suit striking a violent contrast against the sea of black tuxedos. Ethan flanked her right side, Silas on her left, both looking incredibly dangerous.
Marcus’s smile vanished. He handed his glass to a waiter and stepped forward, his bodyguards immediately forming a wall around him.
“Miss Vance,” Marcus said loudly, his voice echoing in the silent room. “You have a lot of nerve coming here. Did you bring what belongs to me?”
“I brought exactly what you deserve, Marcus,” Natalie said, stopping ten feet away from him. She held up her phone, her thumb hovering over the screen. “I spent the morning liquidating my father's offshore accounts. I used the capital to buy the debt of your shell companies. All of it.”
Marcus scoffed. “You think you can play corporate raider with me, little girl? You don't have the leverage.”
“Don't I?” Natalie pressed a button on her phone. Every television screen and projector in the ballroom flickered, suddenly displaying Marcus’s private bank statements, wire transfers to offshore hitmen, and illegal campaign contributions to the senator standing right next to him.
May you like
The senator turned pale and backed away from Marcus in horror.
“I just sent that file to the SEC, the FBI, and the Wall Street Journal,” Natalie said, her voice echoing perfectly in the dead silent room. “You’re bankrupt, Marcus. And by midnight, you’ll be in federal prison.”
