Chapter 11 - The Cole Retaliation|
At eight o'clock the following morning, Adrien sat in his executive office at Hastings Tower in downtown Manhattan.
Across the glass desk sat his chief legal counsel, Marcus Vance, a sharp man in his fifties who had managed the Hastings family legal affairs for two decades.
"The DNA test results came back an hour ago, Adrien," Marcus said, placing an official medical folder on the desk. "It's a ninety-nine point nine percent match. Rosa Delgado is indeed Clara's biological daughter. Mia is your grandniece."
Adrien let out a long, quiet breath. "Good. Prepare the legal documents. I'm transferring twenty-five percent of my personal shares in Hastings Enterprises to Rosa immediately."
Marcus smiled warmly. "I'll draw up the trust papers today. But Adrien... we have a serious problem."
Marcus turned on the wall monitor. The financial news channel was broadcasting a live press conference.
Richard Cole stood at a podium outside the New York Stock Exchange, surrounded by reporters.
"Hastings Enterprises is built on fraud," Richard Cole was saying into the microphones, his face grim and vengeful. "Twelve years ago, when Clara Hastings vanished, Adrien Hastings' father illegally transferred her stock options into the company's private reserves to manipulate the market. I have filed a formal complaint with the SEC. I demand a full freeze of Hastings Enterprises' assets!"
The stock ticker at the bottom of the screen showed Hastings stock plunging twelve percent in minutes.
Marcus looked at Adrien. "If the SEC freezes our accounts, our new three-billion-dollar infrastructure project will collapse by Friday."
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Adrien didn't panic. He leaned back in his leather chair, a slow, dangerous smile touching his lips.
"Richard thinks he has the upper hand," Adrien said smoothly. "He doesn't know I found Clara's journal last night."
