Chapter 36 - The Financial Guillotine
By midday, our tactical convoy rolled into the underground subterranean bunker of the Sovereign Consulate in Manhattan—a brutalist limestone fortress on the Upper East Side that operated under full diplomatic immunity.
While the children were settled into a high-security penthouse suite under the care of royal tutors and pediatric trauma specialists, Alexander and I took over the consulate’s financial command center.
Wall-to-wall Bloomberg terminals cast a cold blue hue over our war council. Standing behind us were six top forensic accountants and two former international prosecutors.
"Henrik von Berg survived the knee dislocation," Alexander reported, reading a secure transmission from our security teams in Chicago. "He’s currently in custody at a private black-site facility outside Gary, Indiana. But his syndicate is moving. The moment the European markets open, they will attempt to liquidate Vance International's European subsidiaries to cover the cost of the mercenary contract."
"Let them try," I said, leaning over the master terminal, typing rapidly with my fingers flying across the keys.
During my five years trapped as Julian's ignored, humiliated wife, I hadn't spent my afternoons attending charity teas or shopping on the Magnificent Mile. I had spent thousands of hours studying the financial pipelines of the Vance empire, deciphering the offshore shell networks Eleanor used to hide her illicit European liquidity.
"I’m initiating Project Scythe," I announced.
Alexander’s chief financial officer gasped. "Ma'am... Scythe requires an uncollateralized margin call against eighty percent of the Zurich accounts. If the Sovereign Trust hasn't formally verified your children's bloodline registry, the Swiss Federal Banking Commission could freeze our domestic operations."
"Then verify them right now," I said, looking at Alexander.
Alexander pulled a gold-plated keycard from his breast pocket and inserted it into the master terminal's terminal lock. He pressed his thumb against the biometric scanner.
"Bloodline Protocol: Alpha-Sovereign verified," the automated voice echoed through the room. "Welcome, Trustee Regent Alexander. Secondary authorization required: Matriarch Regent Katherine."
I placed my thumb on the glass. The scanner flashed brilliant emerald.
May you like
"Authorization accepted. The Four Children of the Lake Forest Lineage are recognized as the sole surviving heirs to the 350-billion-dollar Sovereign Trust. All prior Vance claims are revoked by right of conquest and bloodline purity."
"Now," I said, a razor-thin smile touching my lips. "Short every single asset associated with Henrik von Berg’s Liechtenstein fund. Drain their liquidity down to zero by market close."
