Chapter 5 - THE WALL STREET SHOCKWAVE
When the opening bell rang at the New York Stock Exchange the following morning, news of Victoria Montgomery’s arrest dominated every financial channel. CNBC and Bloomberg broadcasted live feeds from outside Montgomery Tower on Wall Street, where stock prices for Montgomery Holdings were fluctuating wildly. Analysts panicked as rumours spread that the seventy-billion-dollar conglomerate was facing a massive leadership crisis.
Inside the high-rise conference room on the top floor, fifteen board members sat in anxious silence around a glass table overlooking the overcast Manhattan skyline. Arthur stepped into the room wearing a sharp charcoal suit, his presence instantly restoring order to the panicked executives.
"Good morning, gentlemen," Arthur announced smoothly, taking his seat at the head of the table. "I assure you that reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated."
The senior vice president leaned forward, wiping sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief. "Arthur, the press is claiming your wife was working with foreign investment funds to force a hostile takeover of our defense contract divisions!"
"My wife is currently being held without bail in a federal facility in Brooklyn," Arthur stated with absolute authority. "And as of seven AM, every proxy vote associated with her equity shares has been legally revoked by the SEC."
He placed a thick blue binder on the table, opening it to reveal certified banking documents that detailed millions of dollars in illegal wire transfers.
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"Victoria was not acting alone," Arthur declared, scanning the frightened faces of his board members. "She was receiving instructions from someone sitting in this very room."
The atmosphere in the boardroom instantly turned arctic as three board members shifted uncomfortably in their leather chairs, realizing the trap was closing around them.
