Chapter 19 - The Lion and the Baron
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Von Brandt set his glass down on the desk with a soft clink.
"You are bold, Mr. Mercer," von Brandt murmured, leaning back in his leather chair. "You come into my home, in my country, after destroying a fifty-million-dollar acquisition scheme that took my team two years to construct."
"Nolan Pierce was a terrible investment, Victor," I said smoothly, pulling a chair out and taking a seat opposite him without being asked. "He was greedy, sloppy, and cheap. You got what you paid for."
Von Brandt’s cold gray eyes flicked to Elena, then to David.
"And who is this?" von Brandt asked, gesturing toward Elena. "Your new assistant?"
"She is my Chief Integrity Officer," I corrected him firmly. "The woman who uncovered Nolan’s offshore paper trail in less than twenty minutes."
Von Brandt chuckled—a low, dangerous sound. "Fascinating. So... why are you here, Ethan? To threaten me? To tell me you have alerted European regulators?"
"No," I replied, leaning forward and resting my forearms on his desk. "I'm here to offer you a choice."
Von Brandt raised an eyebrow. "A choice?"
David Vance stepped forward, opening the encrypted briefcase and pulling out a blue leather folder.
"Inside this file," I said, "is complete forensic documentation proving that Titan Holdings used illegal shell entities to bribe American corporate executives, bypass international trade embargoes, and attempt hostile takeovers across four countries."
Von Brandt’s smile faded instantly. "You have no proof of international trade violations."
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"We do," Elena spoke up, her voice calm, precise, and absolute. "Because two days ago, your former head of accounting in Zurich gave us full access to your secondary ledger servers."
Von Brandt’s face turned as pale as the snow outside his window.
