Chapter 6 - Panic in the Studio
By 11:30 a.m., the panic had spread to the downtown headquarters of Vanguard Design Studio.
Brooke had arrived in a taxi, soaking wet and mascara running down her cheeks, only to find the glass entrance doors locked with heavy steel security chains.
Inside, two forensic accountants from my private firm were already cataloging desktop computers, servers, and financial filing cabinets under a court-ordered preservation injunction.
Jameson arrived twenty minutes later on a borrowed rideshare, storming up to the doors.
"Let me in! This is my studio! I am the founder!" he hammered on the glass.
The door clicked open, and Nathan Cross, my senior corporate litigator, stepped out holding a thick binder.
"Mr. Sterling," Nathan said with razor-sharp professionalism. "As of 10:00 a.m., Aegis Capital has exercised its rights under the secured lending agreement following your declared default. Your voting shares are temporarily suspended, and an independent receiver has been appointed to audit the studio's accounts."
"What accounts?!" Brooke shrieked from the sidewalk. "There's nothing wrong with our accounts!"
"That is precisely what we are going to find out, Ms. Davis," Nathan replied with a cold smile. "Especially the $85,000 in unauthorized consulting invoices paid to BD Creative Solutions—a shell corporation registered to your personal residential address."
Brooke's eyes widened in sheer terror. She looked at Jameson, who looked back at her in stunned realization.
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"You told me those were legitimate design subcontracting fees!" Jameson gasped.
"You approved them so I wouldn't tell your wife about our Miami trip!" Brooke hissed back, the veneer of their passionate romance crumbling into vicious finger-pointing on the public sidewalk.
