Chapter 7 - The Seven at the Table
The dining room of the Riverdale estate was lit by forty wax candles set in heavy silver candelabras that cast long, flickering shadows across the dark oak paneling.
Outside, a sharp late-autumn wind howled through the hemlocks, driving rain against the thick plate glass, but inside, the air was warm, quiet, and heavy with the aroma of roasted venison, truffle risotto, and thirty-year-old cognac.
Khloe sat at the head of the long table, directly to the right of Dominic Vance.
Around them sat six of the most powerful men in the state of New York. To her left sat Senator Hayes, his face slightly flushed from his third glass of Bordeaux. Opposite him sat Deputy Commissioner Frank Costello—a thick-set man with razor-sharp eyes and a double chin—and next to him sat Victor Moretti Jr., the thirty-five-year-old heir to the New Jersey logistics empire that had been waging a quiet, bloody territory war with Vance’s organization for two years.
The tension in the room was palpable, thick enough to be cut with a knife.
"The Red Hook terminal isn't for sale, Dominic," Moretti said, setting his fork down with a sharp metallic clatter that echoed off the mahogany walls. "My father’s firm already holds sixty percent of the lease options through the Port Authority. The Commissioner signed off on the zoning permits this morning."
Dominic Vance didn't look up from his plate. He sliced a thin piece of venison with surgical precision, chewed slowly, and dabbed his lips with his linen napkin.
"The Commissioner signed those permits because he believed your family had the capital to complete the dredging project by spring," Vance said smoothly. "But as Senator Hayes knows better than anyone in this room, your father’s primary credit line in Zurich was frozen forty-eight hours ago."
Moretti’s eyes flared with sudden, dangerous heat. "That’s a lie!"
"Is it?" Vance asked mildly. He turned his head slightly toward Khloe. "Miss Dawson, what does the public record say regarding the Zurich credit lines?"
Every eye at the table instantly turned toward Khloe.
For a fraction of a second, she felt the old, instinctual dread spike in her throat—the feeling of being trapped in a narrow kitchen with a man who held a gun. But then she felt the cool, smooth leather of her new platinum watch against her wrist, looked at Dominic Vance’s steady, unyielding profile, and forced her lungs to expand.
She cleared her throat, her voice coming out crisp, clear, and perfectly modulated.
"The Zurich line was backed by three collateral bonds issued through Apex Logistics," Khloe said, looking straight into Victor Moretti’s eyes. "Those bonds were defaulted on Tuesday morning at ten o'clock when the Swiss Banking Authority discovered that the underlying assets consisted of fraudulent bills of lading for scrap metal shipments out of Newark."
Moretti went completely rigid. His hand twitched near his glass, his face turning dark purple. "Who the hell is this girl?"
"She is my chief analyst," Vance replied smoothly. "And she knows your balance sheet better than your own auditors do, Victor."
Senator Hayes leaned forward, cold sweat glistening on his forehead as he stared at Khloe. "How... how do you know about Apex Logistics?"
"Because you used their corporate card to pay for your dinner at the Onyx Room three weeks ago, Senator," Khloe said with a faint, cold tilt of her lips. "And because you left the transaction carbon sitting on Table Nine while you were discussing the dredging contract with Mr. Moretti’s legal counsel."
The room collapsed into a stunned, suffocating silence.
Deputy Commissioner Costello looked at Hayes, then at Moretti, his face turning pale as he realized that the entire political structure holding up their deal had just been completely dismantled by a twenty-three-year-old woman sitting in a grey wool dress.
Moretti slowly stood up from his chair, his chair legs screeching harshly against the hardwood floor.
"This dinner is a setup," Moretti snarled, looking down at Vance with pure venom. "You think you can buy the docks with a couple of stolen bank records and a smart-mouthed waitress?"
"I don't need to buy the docks, Victor," Vance said softly, taking a slow sip of his water. "I already own them. As of four o'clock today, my firm acquired seventy percent of Apex Logistics' outstanding debt. You have until Friday morning to vacate the Newark yards, or I will hand Miss Dawson’s complete dossier to the Federal Prosecutor’s office."
Moretti stared at Vance for five long seconds, his chest heaving, his fists clenched at his sides. Then, without saying another word, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the dining room, followed quickly by his two bodyguards.
Senator Hayes slumped back into his leather chair, holding his head in his hands, completely broken.
May you like
Vance turned to Khloe, his cold gray eyes glowing with quiet, profound pride in the candlelight.
"Well done, Khloe," he whispered softly. "Well done."
