Chapter 4 - The Midnight Call
At 6:30 AM, sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the hotel suite. Marcus lay on the king-sized bed, his head pounding from bourbon and late-night champagne. Beside him, Claire was still fast asleep.
The sudden, violent ringing of his personal phone shattered the morning quiet.
Marcus groaned, reaching blindly across the nightstand. When he saw the caller ID, his hangover instantly evaporated. It was his father, Richard Vance—the ruthless founder and Chairman of Vance Logistics.
Marcus sat up quickly, clearing his throat. "Good morning, Dad—"
"Where the hell are you?" Richard Vance’s voice roared through the speaker, so loud and furious that Claire stirred from her sleep with a gasp. "Get your clothes on and get to the corporate headquarters right now!"
Marcus frowned, sliding out of bed. "Dad, calm down. It's the morning after my wedding. Evelyn had a little dramatic episode last night and walked out, but I have the signed prenup right here on the counter. Her family is secured, and—"
"Shut up, you complete fool!" Richard barked, his voice shaking with a mix of fury and genuine terror. "Do you have any idea what just hit our stock thirty minutes ago when the European markets opened?"
Marcus froze, his hand pausing on his shirt button. "What are you talking about?"
"Apex Capital just triggered an immediate acceleration clause on our thirty-day debt notes!" Richard yelled. "They are demanding full settlement of forty-five million dollars by 9:00 AM! If we don't pay, they seize every primary asset, every shipping hub, and every vessel owned by Vance Logistics!"
Marcus’s stomach dropped into a cold abyss. "Apex Capital? Dad, who is Apex Capital? Can't we just roll the loan over like we did last quarter?"
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"They refused to extend!" Richard screamed. "And the Managing Director of Apex Capital just called my office. She said she’ll be sitting in our main boardroom at nine o'clock sharply to collect our keys!"
👉 Read PART 5 to see who walked into the Vance Logistics boardroom at 9:00 AM!
