Chapter 5 - The War for Canyon Ridge
By 8:30 a.m., Marcus Vance and I were sitting in the conference room of the Oakwood State Financial Regulatory Commission.
Marcus slammed down three thick binders of certified audit reports, the original notarized Cedar House Capital trust deeds, and the recorded video footage from my bedroom.
Across the table, Deputy Commissioner Raymond Clark pushed his spectacles up his nose, flipping through the forensic ledger with growing astonishment.
"This shows over fourteen million dollars diverted from Canyon Ridge operational funds into an account in the Cayman Islands under the name 'Orchid Holdings LLC,'" Clark murmured, looking up at us. "And Orchid Holdings is registered directly to..."
"Margaret Wentworth and Derek Thorne," Marcus finished sharply. "For four years, Margaret has used fraudulent resolutions bearing my forged signature to pledge Canyon Ridge's primary downtown assets as collateral for high-interest bridge loans issued by Thorne's private equity group. The final balloon payment of twenty-two million dollars is due at 12:00 p.m. today."
"And if it isn't paid?" Clark asked.
"Thorne seizes seventy percent of Canyon Ridge's downtown commercial footprint," I stated coldly. "Unless the true majority shareholder exercises the statutory right of redemption."
"The Cedar House trust," Clark nodded, examining the original certificate carrying my father’s private seal and Irene’s signature. "Under state corporate statutes, this deed takes absolute precedence over any unauthorized board resolution passed without unanimous shareholder consent. Austin, if we file this right now, we can freeze every single account tied to Canyon Ridge and invalidate Thorne’s liens."
"File it," I said without hesitation. "And issue an immediate cease-and-desist order on Margaret Wentworth’s executive authority."
"Consider it done," Clark said, pressing a button on his desk phone to summon his chief of compliance. "We’ll have the emergency injunction certified by a state magistrate within forty-five minutes."
While Marcus handled the regulatory filings, I drove back to St. Jude’s Hospital.
Irene had been moved to a private room in the maternity wing under the alias "Jane Miller" to ensure Thorne’s operatives couldn't locate her. Two armed security guards in plain suits stood outside her door, vetting every nurse who entered.
When I stepped into the room, Irene was sitting slightly upright, a tray of untouched broth beside her. The swelling around her eye had stabilized, though the bruising was a vicious shade of indigo. Beside her bed, holding her hand, was Marcus Vance’s senior paralegal, Elena, who had arrived to notarize Irene’s final trust execution documents.
"How are you feeling?" I asked, walking over and brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Better now that Elena brought the paperwork," Irene whispered, offering a tired smile. "Did you see Carla?"
"She broke," I said. "She’s giving Detective Vance a complete sworn confession right now. She’s naming Thorne as the mastermind who gave Margaret the hammer and told them exactly which documents to pull from our safe."
Irene exhaled a long, shuddering breath, her shoulders sagging. "Thorne was the one who stalked me last week, Austin. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry while you were preparing for the London presentations. A black Mercedes followed me from the obstetrician’s clinic all the way to our neighborhood. When I got out of the car, the driver pulled up, rolled down his window, and told me that 'accidents happen to mothers who don't cooperate with family business.'"
Ice shot through my veins. "Why didn't you tell me, Irene?"
"Because you were already carrying the weight of the entire company, Austin!" she cried softly, her eyes filling with tears. "Every month, Canyon Ridge was bleeding cash because of Margaret's secret thefts, and you were working eighty hours a week trying to keep the payroll afloat! I thought... I thought if I could just hold out until March 14, until the four-year mark, Marcus and I could legally transfer the company to you, and we could cut Margaret out cleanly without a war!"
I took both of her hands in mine, raising them to my lips. "You don't fight this war alone anymore. From this second on, nobody touches you, nobody threatens you, and nobody takes what belongs to our child."
Elena stepped forward, laying the transfer deed across the bed tray. "Mrs. Wentworth, under the authority of Cedar House Capital LLC, by signing this final deed of conveyance, you legally transfer all seventy-two percent of Canyon Ridge Holdings voting shares to Austin Wentworth, effective immediately."
Irene took the pen. With steady fingers, despite the pain in her cracked ribs, she signed her name across the heavy parchment: *Irene Wentworth, Trustee*.
Elena stamped the legal seal onto the document, the loud *thud* resonating like a hammer blow of justice.
"It's done," Elena said, smiling faintly. "Austin, you are officially the sole majority owner and chairman of Canyon Ridge Holdings."
My phone chimed with a priority alert. It was a text from Detective Vance:
*Preliminary hearing started. Margaret just posted bail via Thorne’s wire. They are heading straight to Canyon Ridge headquarters on 5th Avenue. Thorne is with her. They think they can force an emergency board vote before noon.*
I looked at Irene. She met my gaze and gave me a firm, resolute nod.
May you like
"Go finish it, Austin," she said quietly. "For your father. For us."
***
