Chapter 5 - The Morning After the FallThe sun rose over New York City, casting a brilliant amber glow across the skyline. But inside the Vance penthouse, the morning light felt like an interrogation.
Dominic sat at the massive marble kitchen island, staring blankly into a cup of cold black coffee. His wedding tuxedo was still wrinkled from the night before, and dark, bruised circles hung beneath his pale blue eyes. He hadn't slept a wink.
Footsteps echoed sharply across the marble floor. Victoria marched into the kitchen, her face tight with cold, concentrated fury. She slammed a tablet down onto the counter right in front of him.
"Look at this," she hissed, her voice trembling with suppressed rage.
Dominic sluggishly picked up the tablet. The screen displayed the morning headlines across every major financial and news outlet in the city.
VANCE ENTERPRISES FACES FEDERAL AUDIT AMID SUDDEN SHIPPINING MERGER TAKEOVER.
DOMINIC VANCE’S MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR PRE-NUPTIAL COLLAPSE: INSIDER SOURCES CITE SEVERE LEGAL REPERCUSSIONS.
MARCUS HARRELL CONSOLIDATES CONTROL OVER EAST COAST PORTS AS VANCE STOCK PLUMMETS THIRTY PERCENT.
Dominic’s blood ran cold. "Thirty percent? In one night?"
"Your father’s legacy is being carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey, Dominic, and it's all because you couldn't keep your arrogance in check!" Victoria snapped, pacing back and forth across the kitchen. "If Marcus Harrell dismantles our logistics network, we won't just be poor—we'll be blacklisted from every corporate boardroom in the country."
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"What do you want me to do?" Dominic shouted, slamming his coffee cup down, shattering the ceramic against the marble. "She has the signed annulment! She has the audio recording! If I go near her, her father’s legal team will have me thrown in prison before lunch!"
Victoria stopped pacing. She stared at her son, her eyes narrowing into cold, calculating slits. "We don't go after Audrey. We go to the source."
