Chapter 5 - The Web TightensChristmas Day in Manhattan was supposed to be quiet, but the penthouse at Columbus Circle felt like a war zone. Harrison paced the floor of his home office, barking commands at three different corporate crisis managers simultaneously.
“I want a forensic audit of every legal filing in Vermont within the last forty-eight hours!” Harrison roared into his mobile device, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. “Find the petitioner, find my wife, and shut down that court before the markets open tomorrow morning!”
“Mr. Mercer,” his chief legal counsel interrupted nervously over the line. “We can’t just shut down a Vermont probate court. The judge presiding over the case is Judge Thomas Miller—he’s completely unbribable, and he’s already accepted the emergency injunction based on the original physical trust deed presented this morning.”
“Who presented it?” Harrison snarled.
“An independent fiduciary representing... Julian Mercer.”
The name hit Harrison like a physical blow. The phone slipped slightly in his palm. Julian. The ghost his mother had buried decades ago. The phantom brother he thought he had successfully erased from the family tree when William died.
Harrison’s mind raced. If Julian held thirty-four percent of Mercer House, combined with the shares Clare could claim under marital asset distribution laws if she filed for divorce, he would instantly lose controlling interest of the board. The upcoming merger with European hospitality giant Vanderbilt Group—a ten-billion-dollar deal that Harrison had staked his entire reputation on—would collapse instantly.
He grabbed his wool coat, his keys, and his private security detail’s direct radio.
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If legal channels couldn't stop them, he would handle it himself. He booked a private charter flight out of Teterboro Airport. Destination: Burlington, Vermont.
He didn't care about the blizzard. He didn't care about the optics. He was going to hunt down his runaway wife and force her to sign away every last claim she had, or he would bury them both in the snow.
