Chapter 5
“Claire?” he breathed, his voice cracking. “Are you insane? You took your fifty million. You signed the NDA. You can’t be here!”
Vanessa took Ethan’s arm, her voice shrill and laced with venom. “Ethan, who is this? Is this your ex-wife? Have her thrown into the street!”
I didn't look at Vanessa. I walked down the center aisle, my heels clicking rhythmically against the Italian marble, until I stood just below the altar stairs.
Richard Sullivan pushed his way through the front row, his silver hair bristling, his face flushed with rage. “Claire, you insolent child! If this is an attempt to extort more money, you won’t see a dime! My family gave you a fortune to disappear!”
“You didn't give me a fortune, Richard,” I said. My voice was calm, melodic, and completely devoid of fear. It carried effortlessly across the silent room. “I negotiated the fair value of marital assets your son attempted to hide through fraud and coercion. And I didn't disappear. I went to work.”
“What do you want?” Ethan demanded, his hands shaking at his sides. “Why are you here today?”
I opened the crimson dossier.
“Today is October 24th, Ethan. It is exactly 3:00 PM. The thirty-day cure period for the senior default notice served on Sullivan Group expired twelve minutes ago.”
Richard gasped, his hand flying to his chest. “Apex Holdings… you are Apex?”
“I am the founder and sole managing partner of Aegis Capital Partners, which owns 100% of Apex Holdings,” I answered.
A collective gasp swept through the ballroom. High-society titans began whispering feverishly. Several hedge fund managers in the fourth row leaned forward, recognizing the legal masterstroke unfolding before their eyes.
“You held thirty million in senior convertible notes,” I continued, looking directly into Ethan’s hollow eyes. “Notes your future father-in-law sold behind your back six months ago to protect his own skin.”
Vanessa spun toward Arthur Langford, who was sitting in the front row, his jaw tight, refusing to meet his daughter’s gaze. “Dad? What is she talking about? Did you sell our debt?”
Arthur didn't answer. He looked at the floor.
“Because Sullivan Group failed to deposit the fifty-million-dollar cure collateral before 2:48 PM,” I stated, handing the document to the court process server, who stepped forward and placed it directly into Richard Sullivan’s trembling hands, “Aegis Capital has formally exercised its statutory right of debt-to-equity conversion.”
I turned to the assembled crowd, then back to the groom.