Chapter 5 - The Financial Guillotine
By Friday morning, the audit was complete.
Using the physical ledgers Chloe provided and the cyber-evidence David’s team extracted, General Croft pulled massive federal strings in Washington. The hammer fell with catastrophic speed.
The EPA and OSHA descended on the Blackwood coal mines simultaneously, flanked by armed federal marshals. They shut down every single operation, citing critical safety violations and environmental fraud.
Simultaneously, the IRS and the SEC froze every bank account, trust fund, and offshore shell company associated with the Blackwood name.
Harrison Blackwood sat in his sprawling mahogany office, screaming into his phone. "What do you mean my accounts are frozen?! Do you know who I am?!"
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"I'm sorry, Mr. Blackwood," the bank manager stammered. "This is a federal mandate under the RICO Act. We can't legally give you a single dollar."
In less than five days, a dynasty that had ruled the valley for a century was reduced to zero. They had no police to protect them. They had no money to buy their way out. They were completely, utterly isolated.
