The Cane They Stole Became the Truth That Destroyed Their Power / Chapter 14 / 19

Chapter 14 - The Trojan Horse UnleashedAdrian strode into the library, his polished shoes clicking sharply against the hardwood floor. He didn't even acknowledge Eleanor; his dark eyes were locked entirely on Isabella, carrying a level of raw urgency she had never seen before.

"What is it?" Isabella asked, standing up from the reading table and pushing the hidden metal box out of sight.

"The board," Adrian said grimly, pulling a tablet from his coat pocket and tossing it onto the mahogany table. "While we were looking backward into the 1994 archives, Victoria made her final play."

Isabella grabbed the tablet. The screen displayed an emergency regulatory filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission less than twenty minutes ago.

Notice of Emergency Injunction and Temporary Restructuring of Harrington Global Assets.

Her eyes scanned the legal paragraphs with lightning speed. "She’s invoking the marital asset clause," Isabella gasped, looking up at Adrian in disbelief. "Because you haven't formally dissolved your marriage to her sister—who legally transferred her proxy rights to Victoria before fleeing the country—she’s claiming co-ownership of the primary operating accounts!"

"And because Richard Sterling’s replacement on the board—a puppet he installed three months ago—just seconded the motion," Adrian added, his jaw clenched so tightly a muscle twitched in his cheek, "the SEC has frozen our primary liquidity accounts pending a emergency hearing this afternoon."

Eleanor let out a sharp, cold laugh from her wheelchair, leaning forward with her hands gripping the armrests. "The little viper actually found a loophole. She knows she can't win the company, so she's going to burn it to the ground and force a bankruptcy liquidation."

Isabella stared at the screen, her mind racing through corporate law, SEC regulations, and emergency injunction protocols. A standard legal defense would take weeks—time the Harrington conglomerate didn't have. If their primary liquidity accounts remained frozen past 3:00 PM today, international shipping contracts would default, triggering a cascading default across all major subsidiaries.

"We don't have weeks," Isabella said firmly.

"No," Adrian agreed, stepping closer to her, his gaze intense. "We have four hours. If we don't present an overriding injunction signed by a senior federal judge before the market opens for afternoon trading, Victoria wins."