Chapter 3: The Asset Liquidation
"Mr. Hastings, please! It was a misunderstanding!" Austin screamed hysterically, his high-society elegance entirely vaporizing as two federal marshals roughly grabbed him by his tailored lapels, dragging him out from behind his desk. His designer watch scratched against the marble as his hands were forced into heavy, cold steel handcuffs. "My father is a majority shareholder in this bank! You can't do this to me over a common street wanderer!"
"Your father’s shares are already being forcibly liquidated by the federal government under the Trading with the Enemy and National Defense Acts, you arrogant fool!" Preston roared back, his voice echoing through the silent, terrified lobby. "Your family is completely ruined!"
The wealthy clients in the lobby watched in absolute, jaw-dropped silence as Austin—a young man who had spent his entire life looking down on the working class—was dragged out through the grand revolving doors in disgrace, his tear-stained face captured by the street cameras for the evening financial blogs.
General Vance walked calmly into Preston’s private, gold-leafed executive office, leaning his wooden cane against the plush leather sofa. Preston hastily poured a glass of premium bourbon, his hands shaking violently as he handed it to the old soldier.
"The audit is complete, General," Preston reported nervously, opening a secure digital tablet. "We traced the internal flags. Austin Miller wasn't just being a cruel, arrogant elitist to you today. For the past six months, he and his father have been using their administrative access to siphon micro-percentages from dormant military veteran pension accounts—including yours. They thought old soldiers wouldn't notice a missing twenty dollars here and there."
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The general took a slow, deliberate sip of his drink, his eyes hardening into flint. "They thought a man who bled for this country wouldn't have the power to fight back. They thought money gave them the right to treat the protectors of this nation like dirt."
"We’ve seized all forty-two million dollars of the Miller family’s personal assets, sir," Preston said firmly. "Per the emergency military tribunal directive, every single cent is being transferred into the National Disabled Veterans Housing Fund."
