Chapter 4 - The Corporate Takeover
Down in the grand study, Eleanor sat slumped in her leather armchair, surrounded by her shivering legal counsel. The double doors swung open, and Victoria entered, followed by a corporate liquidator carrying a stack of thick leather-bound dossiers.
"Looking for your checkbook, Eleanor?" Victoria asked smoothly, taking a seat opposite her former mentor. "Don't bother. As of fourteen minutes ago, Thorne Global Holdings has executed a hostile takeover of Vance Industries."
"That's impossible!" Eleanor shrieked, slamming her hands on the mahogany desk. "My board would never allow it! I built this company from the ground up!"
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"Your board consisted of spineless cowards who only stayed because you held their financial secrets over their heads," Victoria replied, sliding a document across the desk. "We acquired their debt this morning. Your accounts are frozen. Your mansions are under foreclosure. And your personal assets have been seized under emergency civil forfeiture laws due to violent assault and human rights violations."
Eleanor stared at the papers, her hands shaking violently. For the first time in her life, the iron matriarch realized she was entirely powerless.
