Chapter 3 - The Audit at the Lake ShoreBy 8:00 AM the following morning, the financial and corporate district of Chicago was thrown into an unprecedented state of chaotic panic.
Inside the glass-walled executive suite of Moretti Global Logistics on Lake Shore Drive, Vincent sat behind his wide mahogany desk, his dark tuxedo replaced by a crumpled dress shirt, his dark hair disheveled, his eyes bloodshot and hollow.
Sitting across from him were his chief legal counsel, Arthur Hayes, and his chief security lieutenant, Marco.
"Don Vincent," Arthur Hayes spoke nervously, sliding a thick leather folder across the desk. "The board of directors is demanding an emergency meeting. Following last night's scene at the foundation gala, shares of Moretti Logistics dropped fourteen percent in pre-market trading."
Vincent didn't look at the folder. He sat staring at a high-definition photograph printed on his tablet—a photograph taken by a journalist seven years ago showing a newborn baby girl resting in my arms in a curtained hospital ward.
"Where is she, Marco?" Vincent asked, his baritone raspy, hollow, and stripped of all life. "Where are Claire and Emily staying?"
"They are staying at the Drake Hotel, Don Vincent," Marco reported softly. "They are scheduled to take a private flight back to Boston at two o'clock this afternoon."
Before Vincent could answer, the heavy double doors of his private office were thrown open.
Sophia Reynolds marched inside, wearing an expensive silk coat, her face contorted in frantic, hysterical rage.
"Vincent!" Sophia shrieked, slamming her designer handbag onto the mahogany desk. "What the hell is wrong with you?! The media is calling me a homewrecker! They're saying Lucas is an illegitimate heir! You need to release a press statement immediately declaring that Claire is a liar!"
Vincent stood up slowly from his chair.
His six-foot-two frame towered over the desk, his storm-gray eyes locking onto Sophia with a cold, terrifying, and white-hot fury that made her words die instantly in her throat.
"Get out," Vincent whispered softly.
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Sophia blinked in total shock. "What... what did you say?"
"Get out of my office, Sophia," Vincent commanded, every word dropped into the room like a heavy block of cold iron. "And pack your bags from the Lake Forest estate."
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