Chapter 5 - CRUMBLING EMPIRES
The next morning, Chicago woke up to an economic earthquake.
By 8:00 AM, the Hale Construction Group’s stock plummeted by forty percent. Julian had triggered clauses in their joint ventures that immediately dissolved their partnerships, leaving Hale with billions in unfinishable projects.
But Julian didn't stop there. Bryce Whitman’s father arrived at his luxury car dealerships to find the bank—owned by a subsidiary of Vance Holdings—foreclosing on all their properties due to newly discovered "irregularities" in their loan documents. Cole Mercer’s logistics empire suddenly lost access to all of Chicago's major shipping ports, effectively halting their entire supply chain overnight.
The only one who seemed to think he could fight back was Senator Vaughn.
I sat at the marble kitchen island in our penthouse, wearing one of Julian’s oversized shirts, watching the morning news while sipping coffee. The news anchors were frantic.
"An unprecedented market shakeup today in Chicago," the anchor reported. "Four major local families are facing sudden and catastrophic financial ruin. Meanwhile, Senator Vaughn has announced a press conference for noon today, promising to expose 'corporate bullying' in the city."
Julian walked into the kitchen, dressed in perfectly tailored slacks and a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He kissed the top of my head and poured himself a cup of black coffee.
"Senator Vaughn is playing a dangerous game," I noted, watching the screen.
"Let him play," Julian said, his eyes glinting with dark amusement. "He is about to find out that the game was rigged before he even sat at the table. Are you ready for today?"
May you like
I nodded. Today, we weren't just destroying them from afar. Today, they were coming to us.
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