Beautifully Knight (Jordan Knight Fanfic, Liadan #5)

Cabins and Cries

-LIA-

"We're coming to you live with breaking news! As we reported earlier this evening, numerous sources have confirmed that multi-billionaire, Antonio Holloway, was transported to the hospital this evening following an emergency health incident. The expansive log cabin off to the right behind me, nestled deep inside of one of Boston's most elusive privately-owned Urban Wilds, is the rumored estate of the tech giant where first responders have been swarming for the past two hours. While officials have yet to release a statement on the exact nature of their presence, it appears an investigation of some sort is ongoing.

This news comes as a shock to the business world as reflected in the sudden drop in stock prices for HTC, which have historically trended far above market averages. As the founder and CEO of HTC for decades, Mr. Holloway pivoted the conglomerate to the pinnacle of its sector and positioned it as one of the most profitable technology businesses in Boston and the world. The mere thought of his absence in the organization from an advisory and management standpoint has investors, employees, and politicians on edge as they scramble to devise a plan to move forward with or without their longtime leader. Finding someone to fill his shoes will be no small feat—according to a recent Forbes magazine profile on the company, a measurable portion of Boston's ongoing innovations, job growth, and new sources of economic revenue have directly or indirectly involved the organization for over 30 years. Thus, Holloway's well-being is an issue of both private and public concern.

However, this is not the first time that the tech magnate's position in HTC has come into question. In fact, Mr. Holloway has been the subject of more than a few scandalous headlines in local and national news. Lawsuits, governmental investigations, public, and private disputes have resulted in a myriad of anonymous reports from the Holloway camp that have long alluded to a history of dysfunction, violence, alcoholism, and explosive conflicts within his immediate circle.

While Holloway has never directly addressed these claims, at least some of them were seemingly validated by leaked photographs and depositions that were taken during his highly publicized divorce from his first wife, Katherine Sanders. Quite wealthy in her own right as a Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect and daughter of millionaire Illinois dairy industry executive, Edward Sanders; the split between the young couple resulted in one of the largest divorce settlements in the Commonwealth's history. The exact details of the decree were sealed from public record, but that didn't stop rumors from abounding with whispers of jealousy and infidelity on behalf of both parties, as well as egregious allegations of domestic violence perpetrated by Mr. Holloway.

This led to a rather provocative media feud between Holloway and his father-in-law, who both shared choice words questioning one another's character and business practices with the press. Mr. Sanders claimed that Holloway deserved criminal charges for his actions against his daughter while Mr. Holloway argued that his father-in-law was simply projecting his own marital failures onto his daughter's relationship. Ms. Sanders, on the other hand, refused to comment in favor of either of the men publicly. Instead, she released a statement asking for privacy and insisting that her interest and concerns were solely focused on her then-young son with Mr. Holloway, Anthony. Follow-up questions to Ms. Sanders about what that meant for custody arrangements between her and her ex-husband went unanswered. Though in subsequent years Mr. Holloway often made a point in interviews and speeches to mention that his son lived with him and shared his talent for numbers and technology. To the admiration of some and dismay of others, executives within HTC—then known as Holloway Tech Corp—widely reported that it was a well-established fact that Anthony would succeed his father in helming the family business whenever the time came for the senior Holloway to step aside.

Thus, it would seem that such an established plan for succession would have well prepared the company for the current scenario they face—an alleged incapacitated Antonio Holloway and a looming uncertainty on who should take the reins of leadership. However, Antonio's discord with Katherine and Edward Sanders was not the end of his involvement in lawsuits and accusations of familial misconduct. Rather, once Anthony came of age, the father and son soon found themselves also publicly embroiled in conflict.