Chapter 13 - The Repossession of an Empire
Forty-eight hours after the catastrophe at the cathedral, the financial capitals of the world were still reeling.
The Montecillo shipping conglomerate, once considered an untouchable titan of maritime trade, had suffered an unprecedented collapse. Following the live broadcast of Marcus's treason and Vanessa’s fraud, the company’s stock price plummeted seventy-two percent within forty minutes of the markets opening in Frankfurt and New York.
Inside the grand penthouse of the Montecillo ancestral estate, Christian sat alone in the darkened study. The room was littered with empty crystal decanters and shredded legal briefs. His tuxedo had been discarded, replaced by a rumpled dress shirt with the top three buttons torn off.
The heavy double doors swung open without a knock.
Christian looked up, his bloodshot eyes adjusting to the bright light from the hallway.
Althea walked in, flanked by two corporate attorneys and a notary from the Swiss federal court. She wore a tailored charcoal wool suit, her dark hair pulled back into an immaculate chignon, looking every inch the sovereign ruler she had become.
"Althea..." Christian croaked, stumbling up from his leather chair. "You came back. I knew you would. The doctors said my father survived the stroke, but he’s paralyzed on his right side. He wants to see the children. I want to see the children. Please, Althea... let's talk. We can fix this. We can annul the marriage with Vanessa—I never signed the official register! Legally, we were never married!"
Althea did not sit down. She signaled to her attorney, who placed a heavy stack of legal notices on the desk in front of Christian.
"I am not here to discuss your marital status, Christian," Althea said coldly. "I am here to serve you with an eviction notice."
Christian blinked, shaking his head as if trying to wake from a nightmare. "An eviction notice? This is my family home! The Montecillo estate has stood on this hill for two centuries!"
"And as of nine o'clock this morning, it belongs entirely to The Valerius Group," Althea replied, tapping the first document. "Montecillo Logistics defaulted on its fifty-million-euro mezzanine debt at midnight. Under the emergency restructuring agreement your father signed last month, all pledged collateral reverts instantly to the senior bondholder."
Christian stared at the paper. His father's signature was right at the bottom, stamped with the corporate seal.
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"You didn't just save our company with that loan," Christian whispered, realization crashing over him like a tidal wave. "You set a trap."
"Your father set the trap two years ago when he decided that money could erase human beings," Althea said without an ounce of remorse. "I merely bought the forest where he decided to hide it."
