The next forty-eight hours were a controlled demolition.
Martin Kemp called Diana Chu, and whatever he said convinced her to hold her vote. With Diana locked down, Victor’s path to a majority collapsed — unless he could find another way in.
He found one.
At 3 p.m. on the second day, Kessler & Briggs filed an emergency injunction claiming that my acquisition of Blackwell Industries had been conducted using material non-public information — insider trading.
The accusation was absurd. Every piece of data I’d used was publicly available. But the filing triggered an automatic SEC review, and until the review was complete, my shares would be frozen.
Victor Hale didn’t need to win the case. He just needed to stall.
I was in the war room when Margaret delivered the news. “The judge granted a temporary restraining order. Your voting rights are suspended pending investigation.”
“How long?”
“Could be weeks. Could be months. Victor’s lawyers are going to drag this out as long as possible.”
I turned to Priya. “The offshore accounts. Vanessa’s payments. Tell me you have everything documented.”
“Timestamped, verified, and cross-referenced,” Priya confirmed. “But it’s not enough for the SEC. We need direct evidence linking Victor to the manipulation of Blackwell’s stock price. Something unambiguous.”
My phone buzzed. Roman.
*”We need to meet. Now. Not the restaurant. My office.”*
Thirty minutes later, I was in the Corsetti Holdings building on Park Avenue. Roman’s office was sparse — dark wood, minimal furniture, a wall of windows overlooking the city.
He was standing when I walked in, his expression grim.
“Victor filed the injunction,” I said.
“I know. But that’s not why I called you here.” He turned a laptop screen toward me. “One of my people intercepted this an hour ago.”
It was an audio recording. He pressed play.
Victor Hale’s voice filled the room, crisp and unmistakable.
*”The SEC filing is just a delay tactic. Once Ashford’s shares are frozen, we move to Phase Two. I want Blackwell Industries’ stock below twelve dollars by end of week. Use the Singapore account to short the position. And make sure Vanessa keeps Derek occupied — the last thing I need is him growing a spine and cooperating with his ex-wife.”*
A second voice — male, unfamiliar — responded: *”What about Corsetti? He’s been seen with the Ashford woman.”*
Victor laughed. *”Roman Corsetti is a sentimental fool. He thinks he’s protecting her. By the time he realizes what’s actually happening, it’ll be too late.”*
The recording ended.
I looked at Roman. “What does he mean, ‘what’s actually happening’?”
Roman’s jaw tightened. “That’s what concerns me. Victor isn’t just going after Blackwell Industries. The stock manipulation, the SEC filing — it’s all a smokescreen.”
“For what?”
He pulled up a document on his screen. “My forensic team found this buried in Hale Industries’ corporate filings. A subsidiary called Orion Ventures, registered six months ago. Its sole purpose is to acquire distressed commercial real estate assets.”
I scanned the filing. Then I saw it.
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