Chapter 18 - The European DelegationThe executive boardroom on the forty-second floor was packed with twenty of Europe’s most elite financial regulators, investment bankers, and monetary policy directors. When Katherine walked through the double doors, the heavy murmurs in the room died instantly.
Every eye turned toward her. There was no condescension in their gazes anymore—only profound, unyielding respect.
"Welcome, Director Whitfield," spoke Sir Alistair Vance, the senior director of the European Banking Federation—no relation to the disgraced corporate mistress, a coincidence Katherine had noted with quiet amusement months prior. "We’ve reviewed the preliminary impact reports of the Phoenix Protocol. If your system works as advertised, it will render traditional corporate money laundering virtually impossible across Western markets."
Katherine took her seat at the head of the massive mahogany table, opening her leather portfolio without a single note of hesitation.
"It doesn't just render laundering impossible, Sir Alistair," Katherine said, her voice clear, resonant, and carrying absolute authority. "It exposes the fundamental flaw in traditional corporate governance: the assumption that power equals immunity."
She projected a complex algorithmic model onto the main screen behind her, breaking down how hidden debt and circular asset routing were systematically dismantled by her system.
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For the next two hours, Katherine commanded the room like a maestro conducting a symphony. She answered complex regulatory questions with surgical precision, dismantling objections before they could even be fully articulated. By the time she concluded her presentation, the room erupted into spontaneous, thunderous applause.
Sir Alistair stood up, raising his glass of sparkling water in a toast. "To First Meridian Bank, and to the woman who rewrote the rules of international finance."
