Chapter 17 - The Blackmail Play
The phone call came at dawn.
Graham put it on speaker, placing the phone on the center of the table while Elise sipped her coffee.
“You’ve been busy, Mercer,” Julian Thorne’s voice echoed through the room, stripped of its former polished charm. It sounded hollow and desperate.
“I’m just doing my due diligence, Julian,” Graham replied coldly. “And my Chief Risk Officer found a few discrepancies in your code.”
“Listen to me very carefully,” Thorne snarled. “I know who Elise Parker is. I know she was pouring cheap wine at a steakhouse a month ago. I have friends in the press. I will spin a story so ugly it will destroy Bastion Arc’s stock. I’ll frame her as a corporate spy, a honey-trap con artist who slept her way into your boardroom.”
Graham’s expression did not change, but his eyes turned into black ice.
Before he could speak, Elise leaned forward toward the microphone.
“Mr. Thorne, do you know what a margin call is?” Elise asked pleasantly.
Silence on the other end.
“I’m sure you do,” Elise continued. “Because thirty minutes ago, I forwarded the transaction logs of your Macau accounts to the Financial Conduct Authority. Simultaneously, I froze the assets in your Geneva art dealership. You currently have zero liquidity, and by noon, the authorities will have a warrant for your arrest.”
May you like
“You’re bluffing,” Thorne whispered, though the terror in his voice was palpable.
“Check your accounts,” Elise suggested softly. “And then put on your best suit. We’re coming to your charity gala tonight to collect your resignation.”
