Chapter 5 - The Financial CollapsePanic rippled through the elite crowd. Investors and board members sitting near Spencer immediately backed away from his table as if he were carrying a deadly plague.
"What is she talking about?!" Spencer shouted, scrambling to his feet, his hands shaking violently as he pointed a finger at the stage. "Security! Get that woman off the stage! She’s my wife! She’s mentally unstable!"
Not a single security guard moved. Instead, four tall Crawford security agents stepped forward, blocking Spencer’s path to the stage.
Arthur Crawford stepped up to the podium beside his daughter, his powerful voice booming through the auditorium.
"Six years ago, Spencer Albright married my daughter under a false name," Arthur declared, his eyes burning with pure contempt. "He believed she was an orphan with no family backing. For six years, he used Crawford subsidiary loans—totaling three hundred and forty million dollars—to keep his bankrupt company afloat while abusing my daughter and granddaughter behind closed doors."
Gwen raised her tablet, pressing a single button.
Behind the stage, the massive LED screens—which were supposed to display charity auction items—flashed bright red.
Instantly, detailed financial audits, forged bank transfers, offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands, and wire fraud documents signed by Spencer and Patricia Albright were broadcast in high-definition to every single investor, news camera, and city official in the room.
"As of eight o'clock tonight," Gwen announced calmly, "Crawford Capital has called in all outstanding loans issued to Albright Enterprises. We have seized your corporate headquarters, frozen your personal bank accounts, and foreclosed on your Bel Air mansion."
Patricia let out a shriek of pure horror, clutching her chest as she collapsed back into her chair. "My house! My country club membership! Spencer, do something!"
Spencer’s phone began ringing frantically in his pocket. He pulled it out with trembling hands.
It was his chief financial officer.
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"Spencer!" the CFO screamed through the speaker so loudly that nearby guests could hear every word. "It’s over! The SEC just froze all our assets! The bank revoked our credit! We're bankrupt! We owe three hundred million dollars by midnight!"
Spencer dropped the phone. It shattered on the marble floor.
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