Chapter 3 - The Collapse of the Titan
Gavin stared at Sabrina as if she were a ghost risen from the grave.
"Sabrina?" he whispered, his voice catching in his throat. "How... how are you here? You were supposed to be gone!"
"Gone without a penny, without a voice, and buried in forty million dollars of fake liabilities that you and Mason thought you could dump on my shoulders," Sabrina said, walking slowly toward the head of the table until she stood right beside Julian. She looked down at the dossier, then up at Marcus Vance. "Mr. Vance, if you open page fourteen of that report, you'll find audio transcripts and encrypted video files of your prospective business partner and his CFO bragging about how they cooked SwiftFreight's books to inflate the valuation by nearly four billion dollars."
Marcus grabbed the dossier with shaking hands, flipping frantically through the pages. His eyes scanned the financial tables, his expression darkening with every second until it settled into a mask of pure fury.
"Gavin..." Marcus breathed, his voice trembling with disbelief. "You used SwiftFreight’s operational revenue to fund offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands? You pledged company inventory as collateral for personal high-yield debt?"
"It's fake! It's all fabricated by Thorne to sabotage the deal!" Gavin shrieked, lunging forward, but the two federal agents instantly stepped in, their hands resting firmly on their belts, blocking his path.
"The audio files include your sister Bridget and your CFO Mason admitting to the asset stripping on camera, recorded less than sixteen hours ago inside your own master bedroom," Sabrina said, her voice cutting through Gavin’s panic like a razor blade. She turned her gaze to Charlotte Gable, who was shrinking back into her velvet chair, trying to make herself invisible behind the floral centerpiece. "And as for the sports car scratch... tell me, Charlotte, did your insurance adjuster ever inspect the paint, or did you just need a convenient excuse to help Gavin clear the house so he could hand me those divorce papers?"
Charlotte’s face turned the color of ash. She couldn't say a word.
Marcus Vance slammed the dossier down onto the table, the sharp crack echoing through the silent, stunned dining room like a gunshot.
"Crestview Partners is officially withdrawing its three-point-two-billion-dollar investment offer, effective immediately," Marcus announced, his voice ringing with cold, corporate finality. He turned to his legal team. "Prepare a multi-count federal fraud referral against Mr. Pierce, and notify the SEC litigation division within the hour. We are suing SwiftFreight into bankruptcy before midnight."
Gavin staggered backward, his knees hitting his chair. The glass of champagne slipped from his hand, shattering against the floor, amber liquid soaking into his expensive shoes.
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"No..." Gavin whispered, staring wildly around the room at the executives who had been toasting him just minutes before. Now, every single one of them was turning their backs, packing their briefheads, and walking away from the sinking ship. "No, you can't do this! SwiftFreight is worth nine billion! I built this company! I built it!"
"You built it on sand, Gavin," Sabrina said quietly, turning her back on him as she took Julian’s arm. "And the tide just came in."
