He takes a moment to respond. “Van Wyk will find you eventually, Reyes. You can’t hide for long.”
The blood drains from Vicky’s face, and I don’t like her being scared.
“Then pay attention, Fournier, because I’m only going to say this once.”
“Say what?” he scoffs. “You think you can threatenme?”
“Yes, I do.” My voice is cold, completely devoid of emotion, and it’s easy.
“There’s nothing you can do that would—”
“Aetheris Pharmaceutical. Records of coercion from Sentinel Risk.”
“That’s nothing,” he growls. “Our lawyers will slap you with counterclaims of non-disclosure and add your work on Origin Engineering to boot. You’ll be in court until you’re seventy.”
“Stonegate, then,” I say, my voice light. “What do you think the Department of Justice’s Antitrust division would think of Calder and Armitage working with Sentinel Risk to actively coerce Stonegate’s executives?”
There’s a long pause before Fournier speaks. “You can’t prove that.”
“I don’t need to, Fournier. All I need is enough forthe DOJ to open an investigation. Then it will beyouwho spends decades in court. That said, let’s see. I have documentation showing A&C formally engaging Sentinel. A retainer letter, six invoices, and a rather damning internal memo. Even the DOJ won’t sleep on that, will they?”
“You little shit—”
“Language, please. There are ladies listening.”
Vicky stares at me, then takes a breath and grips her blankets.
“You have Victoria there,” Fournier says. It’s not a question. “That’ll make life easier for Van Wyk when he finds you.”
“Fournier,” I say, my voice colder as he threatens Vicky, “I have enough here to sink Cadrioncompletely. Not just Northbridge, not just A&C, but the whole damngroup. Now, pay attention, because I have enough to feed the press every month for the next… well, I’m not really sure how long it will take. I have alotof files.”
He says nothing, but his heavy breathing comes down the line. That’s so uncouth.
“While you’re thinking about it, let me continue with a question for you.” I pull up the next set of notes on my laptop, but I already know them by heart. “How quickly do the Securities and Exchange Commission claw back every dollar of profit from insider trading, then slap civil penalties on top?”
Fournier says nothing, but I know he’s listening. I can still hear him breathing.
“Blueforge… it’s not just insider trading on an M&A though, is it? Sentinel Risk ran the deal through a shell company, but they were careless. Their fingerprints are all over the trades.” I tut, clicking my tongue. “Sharing of material non-public information? That’s conspiracy to commit securities fraud. What’s the penalty on that, Fournier? Twenty years?”
“I’m going to fuckingfindyou, and when I do, I’m going to fucking rip your fucking tongue out of your goddamn head and then piss in your—”
“There areladiespresent.”
“I don’t give a fuck about your whore of a—”
“Fournier.” The word cracks out, and all pretense of civility has gone. “If you interrupt me or insult Vicky one more time, I’m going to hang up this phone and leak Ironvale tomorrow.”
A choking sound comes down the line, but he says nothing.
“Since I’ve started, I’ll finish,” I tell him. “Ironvale. In front of me, I have documents establishing that Northbridge, Sentinel and A&C functioned as a coordinated unit. Fee arrangements, communications engaging joint decision makers, very juicy meeting minutes showing all three in the same conversation about the same transaction. Is that the FBI involved, Fournier? Isn’t racketeering a priority designation? Criminal convictions for everyone, asset forfeiture of the enterprise, personal liability piercing corporate protection. Civil RICO suits from every counterparty… what is that, Fournier? Half your clients? More?”
“Are you done?” he growls.
“I’m not done, I’m just warming up. But I’ll let you speak.”
“Do you know what I’ll do to you and your—” He cuts himself off, fighting for control with a breath I hear over the line, and I wink at Vicky. She’s pale, but her gaze is steady, trusting in my confidence. “Your death will be slow.”
“I know,” I say candidly. “You can kill me, and I can utterly destroy you, Cadrion, all the companies, and everyone at board level within them. Do you know what they call that?”
