Chapter 8: The Gilded Retaliation
In December, the Kensington dynasty launched a desperate corporate counter-offensive.
Victoria’s father, Lord Julian Kensington, convened an emergency meeting of institutional shareholders in Manhattan, threatening to initiate a hostile takeover of Sterling Logistics by dumping forty million shares of preferred stock on the open market.
Kensington arrived at Alexander’s executive office on Park Avenue, flanked by four senior corporate attorneys.
""Alexander,"" Kensington sneered, slamming his leather folio onto the table. ""You destroy my daughter's reputation over a bastard child and a chambermaid? We will liquidate our shares, crash your credit rating, and drag your personal life through every tabloid from New York to London.""
Alexander sat behind his desk, wearing a bespoke charcoal suit, completely unbothered by the aristocratic bluster.
He pressed a button on his intercom. ""Marcus, bring in the federal regulatory team.""
The side doors opened. Two senior special agents from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice stepped into the room.
Alexander pushed a three-hundred-page forensic audit across the glass desk.
""Look at those documents, Julian,"" Alexander said with icy precision. ""For seven years, Kensington Maritime has been laundering offshore bribes through our European container lines. Your daughter didn't just terrorize my family; she used your shell accounts in the Bahamas to pay off municipal port inspectors.""
Julian Kensington’s face turned an ugly, mottled grey. His hands shook so violently he could not pick up the folder.
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""Your stock dump was intercepted thirty minutes ago by federal emergency trading halt orders, Julian,"" Alexander concluded. ""You are stripped of all board seats. The marshals are waiting in the lobby.""
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