Chapter 3 - The Broken Contract(Focus: Dominic attempts a desperate corporate retaliation at the office, only to find Audrey sitting in the chairperson's seat with the board of directors.)
The next morning, the executive boardroom of Vance Nexus Technology was in a state of absolute chaos. Dominic stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking downtown Chicago, his right arm bound tightly in a medical sling beneath his expensive silk suit jacket. His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot from a total lack of sleep.
"It doesn't matter what happened last night," Dominic muttered frantically to his father, Arthur Vance, who was pacing the length of the long mahogany table. "Audrey might have signed some preliminary credit adjustments, but the board of directors answers to me. I founded this tech startup. The proprietary software belongs to my developers. Once the morning trade clearing house opens, we can bypass Global Logistics entirely."
"Dominic, you don't understand," Arthur said, his voice trembling as he looked at his laptop screen. "The capital calls are coming from inside our own venture fund. Someone bought out 51% of our preferred class-A shares over the weekend through a blind trust named Aegis Holdings."
Before Dominic could respond, the heavy double doors of the boardroom swung open.
The ten primary board members—men who controlled significant portions of the city's venture capital—stood up instantly, bowing their heads in profound respect. Walking through the doorway wasn't their usual managing partner.
It was me.
I was wearing a sharp, tailored midnight-blue power suit, my hair pulled back into an immaculate, professional knot, and my hands empty of any jewelry—including the five-carat engagement ring Dominic had used to buy my affection. Beside me walked Daniel Vance, the city's most ruthless forensic corporate attorney, followed by two armed private security guards.
"Audrey?!" Dominic gasped, his voice cracking as he instinctively took a step back toward the window, his bruised shoulder thropping with phantom pain. "What are you doing here? This is a closed executive session. Security, remove this woman immediately!"
The security guards didn't move an inch. In fact, one of them stepped forward and blocked the exit behind Dominic.
"Mr. Vance," the chairman of the board spoke up, his voice cold and clinical. "Allow me to introduce you to the new majority shareholder and primary managing director of Aegis Holdings... Miss Audrey Brooks. The woman who currently owns your company."
Dominic fell back into his leather executive chair, his breath caught in his throat. "Audrey... Brooks? Your name is Miller! Your father's company is Miller Construction!"
"Miller was my mother's maiden name, Dominic," I said, walking to the head of the table and smoothly sliding into the large, high-backed chairperson’s seat. "I used it because I wanted to see if you loved me for who I was, or if you were just looking for a financial engine to fund your family’s failing lifestyle. You failed the test within ten minutes of our wedding vows."
I slammed a thick, leather-bound dossier onto the table.
"Over the last six months, you didn't just plan a marriage, Dominic," I revealed, my voice carrying clearly through the silent room. "You and your mother systematically embezzled $12 million from the Vance Nexus development fund, transferring it into personal offshore accounts to pay off Victoria’s gambling debts in Macau. You thought you could hide the deficit by marrying me and using my family's trust to cover the hole."
Arthur Vance collapsed onto the table, burying his head in his hands. Dominic looked around the room, desperately seeking a single ally among the board members, but every single man turned their face away from him.
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"You can't prove that," Dominic whispered, sweat pouring down his neck, staining his pristine white collar.
"The forensic accounting team from the federal trade commission is already in your server room, Dominic," I said, leaning forward, resting my chin on my laced fingers. "Your mother took the plea deal thirty minutes ago. She signed over all her corporate rights and gave a full confession in exchange for a reduced sentence. Now, it's your turn. You can either sign this total relinquishment of your tech patents and walk out of this building with your freedom, or the federal marshals will escort you out in handcuffs."
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