Chapter 7 - The Financial AvalancheBy 2:00 PM that afternoon, news of the arrests hit the national financial news networks.
A video clip of Derek and Bertha Vance being led away in handcuffs from their own corporate headquarters went viral within minutes. The scandal sent shockwaves through Wall Street, causing Vance Global Logistics’ stock to plummet by forty percent in less than two hours.
Sitting in my private office at Apex Holdings, I watched the stock ticker crash across my wall monitors. Beside me stood Arthur Pendelton, tapping rapidly on his tablet screen.
"Every major lender is pulling their credit lines, Mr. Thorne," Arthur reported, a sharp smile on his face. "Without our distribution agreements, their primary manufacturing clients have already sent notices of contract cancellation. They have no shipping routes, no warehouses, and no capital."
"What about their real estate?" I asked calmly.
"Their bank holds the primary mortgage on the Vance mansion. With Vance Global facing immediate bankruptcy, the bank has issued an acceleration clause demanding full payment of the $12 million balance within forty-eight hours."
"Buy the debt from the bank," I instructed without hesitation.
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Arthur looked up, surprised. "All $12 million?"
"Buy it," I said, staring at the photo of Arianne smiling as a little girl on my desk. "And when the forty-eight hours are up, foreclose on the house."
