Chapter 10 - The Financial Avalanche
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The viral video was the spark, but the financial documents were the dynamite.
By Monday morning, the true consequences of my withdrawal hit Vance Hospitality like an unstoppable avalanche.
The Vances' primary lender, terrified by the formal notice of "material discrepancies" Northstar had filed, took immediate, aggressive action. Without the promised eighteen-million-dollar infusion from my firm to act as a buffer, the bank officially froze Vance Hospitality’s entire revolving credit line pending an emergency internal review.
The hotel chain was suddenly, catastrophically illiquid.
The dominoes began to fall rapidly. Within hours of the credit freeze, major vendors—food suppliers, linen services, maintenance contractors—caught wind of the impending disaster. They immediately stopped extending favorable net-30 terms and demanded cash on delivery.
The company couldn't even afford to pay the laundry service for their flagship hotel.
My phone vibrated constantly on the table. Grant had sent me forty-three frantic, alternating messages since Sunday night.
Claire, please pick up.
You're ruining my family over a joke!
I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry!
The bank froze our accounts. You have to call them and fix this.
Claire, answer me you psycho!
I ignored every single one of them, calmly reviewing the legal briefs Mara had prepared.
Then, the final, fatal blow landed.
Two of the independent, non-family directors who sat on the Vance Hospitality board realized the ship was sinking fast. Terrified of personal legal liability regarding the fraudulent financial disclosures, they bypassed Grant and Eleanor entirely.
They formally demanded an emergency, mandatory board meeting for Tuesday morning to address the sudden, total collapse of the company's funding.
Grant's final text message flashed across my screen at 4:00 PM.
COME FIX WHAT YOU DID.
May you like
I picked up the phone. I didn't block him. I simply typed out a single, chilling reply.
I’ll be at the board meeting tomorrow. Bring your lawyer.
