Chapter 12 - A Viper in the EmpireThe next morning, the Escalante boardroom was a war zone.
I sat at the head of the massive mahogany table, flanked by my executive team. The digital displays on the walls flashed red with urgent, catastrophic data. Victoria Sterling had not been bluffing. Overnight, Sterling Global Logistics had initiated a hostile embargo on all Escalante cargo ships across three major European ports. Millions of dollars in luxury goods, technology, and pharmaceuticals were sitting in the Atlantic Ocean, completely paralyzed.
"She’s utilizing a loophole in the European maritime trade agreements," Marcus, my Chief Financial Officer, reported, his forehead shining with nervous sweat. Marcus was a fifty-year-old veteran of the company, a man my father had mentored. "Sterling Global claims our shipping containers do not meet the new environmental compliance codes. It's a fabricated claim, but the bureaucratic red tape will take months to clear. We are bleeding ten million dollars a day."
Julian sat to my right, his face a mask of cold, calculating fury. He had spent the entire night apologizing to me, explaining the toxic history between him and Victoria. She was a woman who destroyed what she could not control, and she was using my company to punish him.
"We bypass the Sterling ports," Julian suggested, his voice cutting through the panic in the room. "I have contacts in the Italian government. We can reroute the cargo through Naples and utilize overland transport."
"That will cost us an additional thirty million in transit fees," Marcus argued, shaking his head. "The board will never approve the expenditure. Mariana, the merger is failing. If we don't negotiate a settlement with Victoria Sterling by Friday, the stock is going to plummet."
"I do not negotiate with terrorists, Marcus," I said, my voice echoing with absolute, freezing authority. "And I certainly do not negotiate with bitter ex-fiancées."
I stood up, walking over to the digital map of the European ports. Something wasn't right. Victoria’s embargo was too precise. She had targeted the exact shipping lanes that contained our most time-sensitive, high-value cargo. It was a surgical strike.
"How did she know?" I asked quietly, staring at the screen.
The room fell silent. "Excuse me?" Marcus asked.
I turned around, my eyes scanning the faces of my executive team. "Victoria Sterling implemented a sudden, legally binding embargo on our cargo in a matter of hours. But she didn't block all of our ships. She only blocked the ones carrying the microchip exports for our tech division. The exact ships that carry the cargo with a seventy-two-hour delivery deadline before the contracts default."
I walked slowly back to the head of the table. "She didn't guess our vulnerability. Someone gave her our logistical manifest. We have a mole."
The executives shifted uncomfortably in their leather chairs.
"Mariana, that is a serious accusation," Marcus said, his voice defensive. "This is a closed executive circle. No one here would betray the Escalante family."
"Someone did," Julian murmured, his green eyes locking onto Marcus with predatory intuition.
"I want a full internal audit of all executive communications," I ordered, my tone leaving no room for debate. "Every email, every phone record, every offshore bank account tied to anyone in this room. No one leaves this building until I find the rat."
As the meeting adjourned and the executives filed out of the room, looking terrified, I grabbed Marcus by the arm.
"Marcus," I said smoothly, offering him a polite, chilling smile. "You were my father's most trusted advisor. I am relying on you to fix this financial bleed."
"Of course, Mariana," Marcus swallowed hard, avoiding my gaze. "I will do everything in my power."
As he scurried out of the room, Julian stepped up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"It's him," Julian whispered, resting his chin on my shoulder.
"I know," I replied, staring at the empty doorway. "Marcus wanted the CEO position when my father retired. He resents me. He sold our manifests to Victoria to sabotage the merger, hoping the board would vote me out in the fallout."
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"So, what's the play, my queen?" Julian asked, pressing a kiss to my neck. "Do we fire him?"
"Firing him is too easy," I smiled, a dark, brilliant plan forming in my mind. "He wants to play corporate espionage? Fine. We are going to feed him poison, and we are going to let Victoria Sterling choke on it."
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