The Regulatory Trap

The espresso at Café L’Avenue was too acidic, but Arthur Vance drank it black, his eyes tracking the man in the charcoal suit moving through the terrace. The process server checked his watch, his gaze snapping toward the corner table where Arthur sat alone. He wasn't looking for a corporate titan; he was looking for the 'errand boy' the Sterling family had kept on a leash for five years.

When the server reached the table, he didn't offer a polite greeting. He slapped a thick, blue-backed document onto the marble tabletop. “Arthur Vance? You are being served with an emergency injunction on behalf of the Sterling Group’s parent conglomerate. Your personal assets, all secondary holdings, and your access to the Sterling operating accounts are frozen effective immediately. You are barred from all company premises until the litigation concludes.”

The server’s voice held the practiced condescension of a man who enjoyed crushing the small-fry. “You’re

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