Trading Yesterday Shattered Novels & Stories

The digital trap snapped shut. In a fraction of a second, the predatory short-sell algorithm that Ares and I had coded together tore through the Vance Shipping logistics network. Because Vance had tied his active corporate capital directly to the ghost holding companies, the sudden, engineered collapse of those toxic shares dragged his entire primary infrastructure down with it. It was not a slow financial decline; it was an instantaneous, total overnight bankruptcy.

After hanging up, Adora and Laura headed into the restaurant. It was one of the city’s high-end spots, nestled along the prime real estate by the riverfront. The two women scrolled through their phones while admiring the view. Adora was chatting with Miles and the others in their group chat. It was Friday, the last trading day of the week, and the market had been volatile all morning, thick with panic. The chat was filled with gloom. Several members had tagged “Madame Lee,” asking if they should cut their losses that afternoon or take the risk and buy the dip.

Shayne was silent. "You'd better find a way to fix this quickly, or we won't let you off!" said the executive. Shayne had a headache. The stock market was closed for trading right now, but people were already boycotting Pearce Group. Once the market opened tomorrow, Pearce Group's stock would likely plummet. That meant he only had one night to fix this. After much hesitation, Shayne decided to call Zach. The moment Zach answered, he asked irritably, "Now that things have blown up like this, are you satisfied?"

They clenched their fists, their faces contorted with frustration. Despite their losses, they weren't entirely ruined. The three stocks still held some value—six to seven dollars each. If they pulled out now, they could salvage at least a third of their assets. The problem was that they couldn't sell until Friday. One of them, grasping at straws, muttered, "Today was bad, but maybe tomorrow will bring a rebound." No one responded. They knew better. A drop like this wouldn't end in a day. Worse, each transaction came with hefty fees.

I picked it up, expecting another angry text from my father or a pleading one from Sienna, but it was an alert from a financial news app. *Montgomery Holdings Shares Plunge An Additional Five Percent Following Abrupt Boardroom Adjournment.* I stared at the headline. It was happening so fast. Just twenty-four hours ago, I was worried about flower arrangements and seating charts. Now, I was watching the empire my father built slowly crumble because of a choice I made.

The only sounds were the soft hum of the air conditioning and the distant scratching of pens on paper. Jonathan sat in his usual spot in the back corner. He had a stack of art history books piled up to act as a shield, but he wasn't reading them. His laptop was open to the live financial news stream. The headline scrolling across the bottom was bright red: MATTHEWS GLOBAL SHIPMENT "LOST" AT SEA; STOCK DROPS.