Chapter 5 - Blackout at Midnight
By 12:01 AM, the corporate servers of Vance Logistics went completely dark.
Across three major shipping hubs on the East Coast, automated sorting lines ground to a screeching halt. Thousands of freight manifests locked behind cryptographic keywalls. Dispatch screens flashed crimson error messages: LICENSE REVOKED - CONTACT AUTHORIZED OWNER (AEGIS SYSTEMS).
Inside the penthouse suite of the Grand Monarch Hotel across town, Emma sat at a glass desk, sipping hot chamomile tea. Her hair was freshly washed, clean of all traces of grease and vinegar.
On the desk rested three phones. The first was Julian's personal line, ringing incessantly. The second belonged to Arthur Vance, Julian's estranged father and the majority shareholder of the Vance Trust. The third was a dedicated line to her attorney, Marcus Cole.
Marcus was a legendary corporate shark known for tearing predatory family dynasties apart in courtroom arenas.
The attorney's line chimed. Emma answered on speaker.
"Emma," Marcus’s gravelly voice echoed in the room. "The police report for assault and battery has been officially logged with the 4th Precinct. I personally delivered a copy of the high-definition security footage to the District Attorney's desk ten minutes ago."
"Did Evelyn try to contact the captain?" Emma asked.
"She did," Marcus let out a dry chuckle. "Captain Reynolds called me directly to confirm he's recusing himself. The footage is too clean, Emma. The angle catches her grabbing your hair with both hands and forcing your head down while Julian laughs. No prosecutor in the state can bury this without committing career suicide."
"And the injunction?"
"Drafted and ready for the judge’s signature at 8:00 AM. We’re freezing all joint accounts, filing an emergency restraining order, and seizing Julian’s corporate equity pending the IP dispute."
"Good," Emma said, setting her teacup down. "Julian thinks he can leverage his father's trust fund to buy new code from a third-party developer."
"He can't," Marcus said firmly. "Arthur Vance just caught wind of the logistics shutdown. He’s calling an emergency shareholder meeting for 9:00 AM."
Emma glanced at the second phone, which was vibrating furiously with Arthur Vance's name flashing on the screen.
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"Let him wait until sunrise," Emma said. "Let them sweat in the dark."
She hung up, closed her laptop, and went to bed, sleeping through the night for the first time in an entire year.
