Chapter 7 - Grounded in First Class
Four hours away at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Vanessa and her brand-new husband, Julian Hayes, were lounging inside the ultra-exclusive Admirals Club lounge.
Julian was sipping a single malt scotch, dressed in a tailored linen suit, while Vanessa lounged across a leather recliner, tapping furiously on her phone, admiring the early engagement numbers on her smear post. She hadn't refreshed her feed in an hour, entirely convinced that my career was ruined and that the Carter Logistics board would force me out by Monday morning, leaving Julian to assume the role of acting chief executive.
Their flight to French Polynesia—a ten-day, all-expenses-paid honeymoon booked in an overwater bungalow at the St. Regis—was boarding in twenty minutes.
“Julian, darling,” Vanessa purred, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Call the concierge in Bora Bora. Tell them we want the private catamaran tour reserved for Tuesday instead of Wednesday. Use the corporate platinum card.”
Julian pulled out his sleek black titanium corporate card, strode over to the lounge reception desk, and handed it to the attendant to pay for their airline club upgrades and last-minute lounge fees.
The attendant swiped the card. A short beep sounded.
She frowned, swiped it again, and tapped a few keys on her terminal. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hayes. The transaction is declining with an error code 91.”
Julian scoffed, a patronizing smirk on his lips. “Try it again. That card has an unlimited commercial revolving line of credit. I’m the vice president of corporate development for Carter Logistics.”
“Sir, it’s not an insufficient funds alert,” the attendant replied politely, glancing at her screen. “The system says ‘Restricted by Court Order—Account Severed.’”
Julian’s face went slightly pale. “That’s absurd. Here, run my personal debit card.”
He handed her a sapphire-blue card. She ran it.
*Beep.*
“Declined, sir. Same restriction.”
Vanessa marched over, her designer sunglasses pushed up onto her head, her voice loud enough to attract the glances of several executives in the lounge. “What is taking so long? We need to board first class! This is ridiculous!”
“Vanessa, the cards aren’t working,” Julian hissed under his breath, sweating through his linen collar. “Neither the business account nor my personal checking.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, use the backup reserve card Mom gave us!” Vanessa snapped, digging through her Louis Vuitton tote. She slammed a gold card onto the marble counter. “Run this one!”
The clerk swiped it.
*Declined.*
Before Julian could utter another word, two men in tailored navy suits walked through the glass entry doors of the Admirals Club, flanked by two armed airport police officers.
The taller of the two men, flashing a gold badge from the Texas Financial Crimes Unit, approached the counter. “Julian Hayes? Vanessa Carter-Hayes?”
Vanessa scoffed, crossing her arms defensively. “Who wants to know? We have a flight to catch to Tahiti. Move aside.”
“You’re not boarding that flight, Mrs. Hayes,” the investigator said smoothly, pulling a crisp white packet from his breast pocket. “I’m Special Agent Davis with the State Comptroller’s Division. We have an emergency bench warrant issued by Judge Hernandez out of the 345th Civil District Court, accompanied by an order for the surrender of all commercial travel documents.”
Julian dropped his boarding pass. His face was the color of chalk. “Surrender? On what grounds?!”
“On the grounds of suspected flight risk regarding sixty-three counts of commercial wire fraud, falsification of corporate records, and felony identity theft,” Agent Davis stated, his voice flat, carrying effortlessly across the silent lounge.
Passengers all around them began pulling out their smartphones, recognizing the blonde bride from the viral video that was currently consuming every algorithm in the country.
“You can’t do this!” Vanessa shrieked, backing away. “This is a civil misunderstanding! My sister is just jealous because my wedding went viral! She’s trying to humiliate me!”
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“Ma’am, your sister didn’t sign this warrant,” Agent Davis replied calmly. “The District Attorney did. Passports on the counter, please. Now. Or we will escort both of you out of this terminal in handcuffs.”
***
