My Ex-Girlfriend Bullied Me In My Own Five Star Hotel

Chapter 9: Finance Company Freeze

The grand marble atrium of the Pudong Commercial Bank central branch hummed with the quiet, authoritative pulse of high finance. Tall glass windows stretched toward vaulted ceilings, casting clean morning light across rows of polished counters, private wealth lounges, and security posts manned by guards in dark suits.

Inside the executive consultation suite on the third floor, David Vance sat on a plush leather sofa, smoothing the lapels of his grey business suit. Across the glass coffee table sat Bank Vice-President Marcus Thorne, a sharp-eyed man in a tailored navy suit who was reviewing a thick stack of loan application documents.

Linda Vance sat beside her father, wearing a simple cream dress. Her eyes darted anxiously toward the door every few minutes. The terrifying scene from the Property Expo yesterday—where General Manager Daniel Lee presented gold commercial skyscraper title deeds directly to Liam—was still burning in her mind like an unhealed wound.

Beside Linda sat Kevin Zhang, looking confident as he rested his arm along the back of the sofa, a golden pen resting between his fingers.

"You don't need to worry about a thing, Uncle Vance," Kevin said smoothly, leaning forward to address David. "My father personally spoke to Vice-President Thorne over dinner last night. Hengtai Construction guarantees Vance Trading’s supply chain contracts. This twenty-million-yuan credit line extension is a done deal."

David Vance let out a long, relieved breath, a proud smile finally breaking across his stressed face. "Thank you, Kevin. Without your family’s standing in this district, Vance Trading would have struggled to clear the liquidity audit after yesterday's misunderstandings."

Vice-President Thorne smiled politely, setting his gold fountain pen down beside the signature line of the credit agreement.

"Mr. Vance’s logistics firm has a decent history," Thorne noted, sliding the agreement across the glass table. "With the Zhang family’s Hengtai Construction acting as corporate guarantor, our credit committee is satisfied. Once you sign the secondary collateral pledge on page four, the funds will be transferred to your business account within the hour."

David Vance grabbed the pen with trembling, eager fingers. "Thank you, Vice-President Thorne! Thank you!"

Before the nib of the pen could touch the white paper, the heavy oak double doors of the private suite were pushed open with a sharp, echoing snap.

Two senior security officers in full uniform stepped inside, standing at rigid attention on either side of the entrance.

Stepping into the room was Bank President William Sterling—the supreme chief executive of Pudong Commercial Bank and one of the most powerful corporate financiers in the entire country. Walking half a step behind him was Executive General Manager Daniel Lee, wearing an immaculate black overcoat, his eyes as cold and unforgiving as winter iron.

Vice-President Thorne instantly stood up, bowing ninety degrees toward his superior. "President Sterling! General Manager Lee! We were not informed of an executive inspection today—"

President Sterling didn't look at Thorne. His face was pale, his forehead beaded with fine cold sweat as he held an encrypted black tablet securely in his left hand.

"Stop the authorization immediately," President Sterling commanded, his voice trembling slightly under suppressed pressure.

David Vance froze, his pen hovering a millimeter above the paper. "P-President Sterling? Is there an issue with the paperwork?"

Kevin Zhang quickly stood up, forcing a polite, dignified smile as he stepped forward to offer his hand. "President Sterling! I am Kevin Zhang, son of Zhang Weimin from Hengtai Construction! We were just finalizing the credit line extension for my future father-in-law's firm—"

"Shut your mouth!" President Sterling snapped sharply, ignoring Kevin’s hand entirely as he glared at the young heir with sheer, unadulterated coldness.

President Sterling turned to Vice-President Thorne, slamming his encrypted tablet onto the glass table right over David Vance’s loan documents.

"Five minutes ago," President Sterling declared loudly, his voice echoing across the silent room, "the central clearing house received a direct, absolute override mandate from the Coop Global Sovereign Account."

Vice-President Thorne’s eyes widened in sheer, uncomprehending horror. "The... the Sovereign Account?!"

"Every commercial credit line, every equipment loan, and every revolving overdraft facility associated with Vance Trading and Hengtai Construction," President Sterling continued coldly, "has been permanently frozen with zero notice under global risk management protocol."

David Vance’s face turned white as paper. The gold fountain pen slipped from his numb fingers, clattering uselessly against the glass table.

"F-Frozen?!" David Vance stammered, his voice rising in high-pitched panic as he stumbled to his feet. "President Sterling! There must be a mistake! My company has operated in this city for fifteen years! We have collateral! We have—"

"You have nothing, Mr. Vance," Daniel Lee interrupted, taking a step forward. His voice was deep, smooth, and laced with absolute authority. "The land beneath your logistics warehouses, the commercial roads your trucks utilize, and the institutional funds backing this bank belong to a single private entity. That entity has deemed your family a total financial risk."

Linda gasped, clutching her throat as her heart hammered violently against her ribs. She stared at Daniel Lee, her mind racing back to Liam’s flat, unbothered voice at the Property Expo: *A ninety-square-meter unit on a thirty-year mortgage is a heavy burden, Mr. Vance...*

"Manager Lee..." Linda choked out, her voice shaking uncontrollably as tears welled in her eyes. "Why are you doing this to my father's company? Is this... is this because of Liam?!"

Daniel Lee turned his head slightly, looking at Linda with a expression of pure, unfeeling disdain.

"Master Liam does not need to lift a finger to crush an ant, Miss Vance," Daniel Lee stated softly, his words cutting through her soul like a frozen blade. "Your family's arrogance brought this storm upon your own heads."

Kevin Zhang’s face burned with boiling rage and desperate humiliation. "This is illegal! My father has political connections! He knows Vice-Minister Chen! You can't just freeze our corporate accounts without a court order!"

President Sterling let out a harsh, contemptuous laugh. "Vice-Minister Chen personally signed the district regulatory audit order for your father's firm two hours ago, Mr. Zhang. As of nine o'clock this morning, Hengtai Construction is under active investigation for structural non-compliance and financial fraud."

Kevin’s legs gave out. He stumbled backward, collapsing heavily into the leather sofa, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling in total, paralyzed shock.

David Vance grabbed President Sterling’s sleeve, tears streaming down his face as he dropped to his knees on the marble floor. "Please! President Sterling! Manager Lee! Give us three days! Just three days to clear our short-term debts! If our accounts stay frozen until tomorrow, Vance Trading will be forced into total bankruptcy!"

Daniel Lee stepped back, smoothly pulling his sleeve from David's desperate grip.

"Your three days were spent three years ago, Mr. Vance," Daniel Lee said flatly.

With a single gesture of Daniel Lee's hand, the two security guards stepped forward, grabbing David Vance by his arms and lifting him off the floor.

"Escort these people off the bank premises," President Sterling ordered the guards coldly. "And revoke their entry passes for every financial institution in the Pudong district."

Linda stood frozen as her weeping father was led out of the suite, her body trembling violently under the bright lights of the luxury office. She looked at Daniel Lee, then at the golden pen lying broken on the floor.

Everything her family owned, everything she had bragged about to her classmates, and every bit of status she had built her life upon was dissolving into thin air—all because she had thrown a fifty-yuan silver ring into a muddy alley.

What terrifying scene will unfold tomorrow when Linda discovers Liam using a plain black titanium card to single-handedly settle a multi-million-yuan emergency medical bill at the city's private hospital?