Chapter 152: Boys... Grab Your Batons
Shortly after Luca Hale and Vivienne left the headquarters of the Hale-Viv Conglomerate...
At the headquarters of Day Enterprises in New Orleans...
"What do you mean they’re unloading the cargo?" Arthur Day demanded, shooting to his feet. "How can a fully executed logistics contract be terminated at this stage?"
Disbelief filled his voice, though beneath it, panic was beginning to creep in.
’Has Gordon really pulled the plug over Vivienne?’
Arthur couldn’t believe it.
He had spent decades in business, and one thing seasoned businessmen understood was that Gordon Luiz never walked away from profit. The man was a vulture. Once he sank his claws into a deal, he squeezed every last dollar out of it. Walking away from millions in guaranteed shipping revenue simply wasn’t in his nature.
Yet reality sat right in front of him.
Two freighters loaded with Day Enterprises’ export cargo had already been ordered to stop unloading. They sat motionless at the dock, their operations completely suspended.
The maritime partnership had been severed.
"No..." Arthur muttered, grabbing his phone. "I won’t sit here and watch my company bleed money."
He immediately dialed Gordon’s private number.
The call never connected.
Instead, an automated message informed him that the number was unavailable before disconnecting.
Arthur’s heart sank.
With every passing minute costing him money, he abandoned all pretense of composure.
"Drive!" he barked at his chauffeur. "To the Luiz Conglomerate Headquarters. Now!"
The chauffeur floored the accelerator. A trip that normally took half an hour was completed in under eighteen minutes.
---
The sedan screeched to a stop outside the towering glass headquarters.
Arthur barely waited for the car to settle before throwing open the door and marching inside.
The polished marble lobby buzzed with employees coming and going, while sunlight poured through the enormous glass walls.
"Good afternoon, sir," the receptionist greeted politely. "How may I help you?"
Arthur clutched the leather contract folder in his hand, forcing himself to remain calm.
"I need to see President Luiz immediately. Direct me to the executive offices."
It wasn’t his first visit. He strode through the lobby with the confidence of someone who believed he belonged there.
The receptionist blinked politely.
"I’m sorry, sir, but there is no President Luiz here."
BANG!
Arthur slammed both palms onto the marble counter.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" he snapped. "I said I want to see Gordon Luiz, the president of this company!"
The young receptionist flinched but quickly regained her composure.
"I’m afraid that’s no longer possible."
She turned her monitor toward him.
"Our corporate announcement was released earlier today."
Arthur leaned forward.
The headlines on the screen hit him one after another.
<<>>
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His eyes froze on the accompanying photograph.
It was Luca.
The same young man he’d mocked inside Vivienne’s villa.
Arthur grabbed the edge of the monitor so tightly his knuckles turned white.
’Impossible...’
In his mind, Luca had been nothing more than an ambitious investor from San Fierro with some holdings in a streaming company.
Someone successful enough to make money.
Not someone capable of toppling the Luiz family.
Yet here he was.
Not only had Luca seized control of the conglomerate, he’d erased the Luiz name from the company itself and sent both Gordon and Dexter to prison.
No matter how much Arthur wanted to deny it, one fact was undeniable.
The Luiz family had fallen.
Taking a long, shaky breath, he slowly straightened.
"Inform your president," he said stiffly, "that Arthur Day, CEO of Day Enterprises and head of the New Orleans Day family, is here to discuss an urgent commercial matter."
The receptionist was about to explain that Luca wasn’t in the building when something he said made her pause.
"...Did you say you’re from the New Orleans Day family?"
Arthur immediately regained his usual arrogance.
"That’s right," he replied proudly, adjusting his lapels. "Arthur Day. Now notify President Hale immediately. Don’t waste my time."
Instead of answering, the receptionist calmly picked up her radio.
"Chief Tenpenny, the CEO of Day Enterprises is in the lobby."
A brief pause.
"Could you come down and handle this?"
Arthur frowned.
"’Handle?’" he scoffed. "Young lady, it’s called escorting a guest. You’re the face of this company. Learn some proper corporate etiquette."
Before he could continue lecturing her, heavy footsteps echoed across the lobby.
Seven heavily built Crescent Security operatives marched toward him in formation.
Leading them was Chief Tenpenny.
The large man barely spared Arthur a glance.
He looked toward the receptionist instead.
"This the Day family guy?"
"That’s him."
Chief Tenpenny nodded once.
"Got it."
He cracked his knuckles.
"Let’s move him out."
Arthur frowned.
"What—"
Before he could finish, Chief Tenpenny grabbed him by the back of his expensive suit collar and effortlessly lifted him off the floor.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Arthur shouted, kicking helplessly. "Put me down! Is this how a major corporation treats its guests? I’ll sue every single one of you!"
Nobody paid him any attention.
His secretary rushed forward instinctively, only to be intercepted by two Crescent guards who restrained him with ease.
Unable to interfere, the secretary could only watch in horror.
Chief Tenpenny dragged Arthur through the lobby as though he weighed nothing, ignoring the horrified looks from passing employees.
When they reached the entrance, he casually hurled him onto the stone pavement outside.
THUD!
Arthur landed hard, his tailored suit immediately coated in dust.
His hair was disheveled, his pride shattered.
He had never suffered such humiliation in public.
Furious, he staggered to his feet.
"You’re just a security guard!" he roared, pointing accusingly at Tenpenny. "How dare you lay hands on me? One phone call from me, and both you and that receptionist will be unemployed before sunset!"
Chief Tenpenny simply grinned.
"I don’t think so."
Arthur froze.
"What do you mean by that?"
The guard folded his arms.
"Because if I didn’t throw you out, I’d be the one losing my job."
A knot formed in Arthur’s stomach.
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh?" Tenpenny chuckled. "Looks like nobody told you."
He leaned forward slightly.
"President Hale issued a company-wide order this morning."
He spoke each word slowly.
"No member of the New Orleans Day family is allowed inside this building."
He paused deliberately.
"Except Madam Vivienne."
"Any employee who lets another Day family member through those doors is fired immediately."
Arthur’s face drained of all color.
It felt as though the ground beneath him had disappeared.
Before he could process the shock, one of the guards spoke up.
"Chief, you forgot the second part."
"Oh, right!"
Tenpenny snapped his fingers.
"I almost forgot."
He grinned from ear to ear.
"Boys..."
He unclipped the heavy steel baton from his belt.
"...grab your batons."
Without another word, he swung the weapon with full force.
CRASH!
The steel baton smashed straight through the windshield of Arthur’s custom luxury sedan, sending shattered glass exploding across the pavement.