Chapter 24 - The Fall of Moretti Global
The attack came Monday morning.
Not with guns.
With numbers.
Moretti Global’s largest international lender announced it was freezing credit facilities pending investigation.
Two shipping partners terminated contracts.
Three board members resigned.
Stock prices collapsed.
By noon, financial channels predicted bankruptcy.
Evelyn Shaw entered Dominic’s office with a grim expression.
“If lenders accelerate the debt, we have seventy-two hours.”
Hannah stared.
“For what?”
“To raise approximately one-point-four billion dollars.”
Mason nearly choked.
“Sure. Let me check my couch cushions.”
Dominic remained calm.
“Sell the European logistics division.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Market value collapsed.”
“Riverfront properties.”
“Same issue.”
Adrian leaned against the wall.
“This is Gabriel.”
“From jail?” Hannah asked.
“He prepared it months ago.”
Dominic agreed.
“He knew public scandal would trigger loan covenants.”
Mason frowned.
“What happens if the company fails?”
“Thirty-eight thousand employees become uncertain,” Dominic said.
Hannah understood immediately.
This was bigger than wealth.
Warehouse workers.
Drivers.
Office staff.
Families.
Dominic could personally remain rich after bankruptcy.
Thousands of employees might not.
“What can we do?” she asked.
Dominic looked at her.
“Nothing reckless.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
He almost smiled.
They spent sixteen hours analyzing options.
Private equity offered emergency capital—but demanded control.
Competitors offered asset purchases at predatory prices.
One investor proposed saving the company if Dominic resigned permanently.
By midnight, Dominic stood at the windows.
“Maybe I should.”
Hannah looked up.
“What?”
“Resign.”
“Because Gabriel wants you gone?”
“Because employees shouldn’t lose jobs for my family history.”
Hannah walked toward him.
“If you believe leaving saves them, leave.”
Dominic looked surprised.
“But don’t do it because you think suffering proves you’re responsible.”
He stared at her.
“That sounded like you.”
“It was.”
The next morning, Dominic called an emergency employee broadcast.
Every warehouse.
Every office.
Every shipping terminal.
He stood alone before the camera.
“No inspirational speech,” he began. “We are in trouble.”
Employees watched silently.
“Our lenders are afraid. Our investors are angry. Our competitors smell blood.”
Hannah smiled faintly.
Classic Dominic.
“I can protect my personal fortune by selling the company today.”
He paused.
“I won’t.”
Across the country, employees leaned closer.
“I will instead contribute every unpledged personal Moretti Global share I own into an employee protection trust. If the company survives, workers receive equity. If it fails, the trust becomes the first pool used for severance and pensions.”
Evelyn had nearly fainted when he proposed it.
The commitment was worth hundreds of millions.
Dominic continued.
“My father built power by making people dependent on him. I spent years believing ownership meant control.”
He looked toward Hannah behind the camera.
“I was wrong.”
Within hours, something unexpected happened.
Employee pension funds agreed to extend support.
Several suppliers delayed payments voluntarily.
Customers began posting support online.
Then an institutional investor called.
A massive teachers’ retirement fund.
Their representative said, “We invest in companies whose leaders take the same risk as their workers.”
They purchased distressed bonds.
Another fund followed.
Then another.
The liquidity crisis eased.
Not solved.
But slowed.
Gabriel watched from jail.
His emergency financial attack had failed to destroy Dominic.
Instead, Dominic had weakened his own control voluntarily.
That night, Hannah found him in Box Six.
“You gave away part of your company.”
“Yes.”
“Does that make you less billionaire?”
“Technically.”
“Oh no.”
“I know. Devastating.”
She sat beside him.
Dominic looked around.
“When I was younger, I thought owning things made them safe.”
“People aren’t things.”
“I’m learning.”
She leaned against him.
Below, the orchestra rehearsed.
After a moment, Dominic said, “Hannah?”
“Yes?”
“If Moretti Global disappears tomorrow, would you still sit here?”
She looked offended.
“I sat here when I thought you were an arrogant stranger who might have me thrown out.”
“Fair.”
“And I stayed after learning you investigate people who fall asleep near you.”
“A reasonable precaution.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
He kissed her forehead.
“So that’s a yes?”
May you like
Hannah squeezed his hand.
“It was never the company.”
