Part 6
A tense, heavy silence filled the apartment for several seconds.
Then, I heard the muffled sound of a cell phone vibrating in the living room.
It was followed immediately by another ringtone.
Both Carmen and Javier were receiving notifications at the exact same time.
"What is this?" Carmen muttered, her voice laced with growing confusion.
"Mom..." Javier’s voice suddenly sounded completely terrified. "The bank... our corporate accounts have been frozen. It says there is an active investigation into fraud and money laundering."
"What?" Carmen gasped. "That’s impossible! Who did this?"
"I did," Alexander said, his voice smooth and completely devoid of emotion.
"I spent the last twelve hours speaking with the board of directors at your primary lending bank."
"When I showed them the evidence of your company’s massive debt hidden behind falsified assets, they were more than happy to protect their own interests."
"Your loans have been called in, Carmen. You have twenty-four hours to pay back four million dollars."
"You... you can't do this!" Carmen shrieked, her composed facade completely shattering. "This is illegal! I will sue you!"
"With what money?" Alexander asked quietly.
"Your businesses are being shut down as we speak."
"But that is just the beginning."
"Javier," Alexander continued, turning his attention to the trembling young man. "I also took the liberty of contacting the senior partners at your investment firm."
"I sent them a copy of the security footage from the hotel last night."
"The footage where you stood outside the door while your mother beat your wife."
"The partners were quite clear. They do not want a man who facilitates domestic abuse and extortion representing their clients."
"You were fired exactly twenty minutes ago, Javier."
Through the bedroom door, I could hear Javier literally begging.
"Please, Mr. Vance... please don't do this. It was my mother's idea! She forced me to go along with it! She said we needed the condo to save the family!"
"Javier, shut up!" Carmen screamed at her son.
The betrayal was instant.
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The perfect, united front they had presented at the wedding had collapsed in less than five minutes.
They were turning on each other like wild animals trapped in a cage.
