Chapter 4 - The Poison in the Pack
While Audrey was recovering in the safety of the Vance pavilion, the penthouse apartment Dominic had proudly claimed as his own had turned into a war zone.
Dominic stood in the middle of the luxury living room, his tie ripped off, his hair messy, staring at the flashing red numbers on his laptop screen. Every single one of his corporate credit cards had been declined. His email inbox was flooded with automated termination notices from his suppliers, and his phone was ringing continuously with calls from angry investors.
Natalie sat on the white leather sofa, sobbing loudly, still wrapped in Audrey’s ivory maternity coat. "Dominic! Do something! The bank just called me—they said my personal savings account has been frozen by a federal court order! They said I'm being investigated for money laundering! You told me this money was ours!"
"Shut up, Natalie! I'm trying to think!" Dominic screamed, slamming his laptop shut. He paced the floor like a trapped animal. "How did this happen? Audrey was a schoolteacher! She wore clothes from regular retail stores! She drove a four-year-old sedan! How the hell is she related to Arthur Vance?!"
"You didn't check her background?!" Natalie shrieked, standing up, her face twisted in rage. "You ruined my life! I left my job for you! I'm pregnant with your child, and now we don't even have enough money to pay the rent on this place next month!"
"The rent?" Dominic let out a crazed, desperate laugh. "Natalie, we don't have to worry about next month's rent. Look out the window."
Natalie walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the street. Standing outside the luxury building were two large moving trucks, flanked by three men in dark suits carrying legal eviction clipboards.
The front door of the apartment suddenly clicked open. Dominic’s head whipped around as Marcus Vance walked in, followed by two burly security guards. Marcus held a signed document from the building’s corporate owner.
"Mr. Cross, Miss Miller," Marcus said, his voice entirely devoid of emotion. "The Vance Real Estate Trust purchased this entire residential tower twenty minutes ago. As the new landlords, we have reviewed your lease agreement and found a material breach regarding unauthorized corporate fund usage. You have exactly ten minutes to pack your personal clothing and vacate the premises."
Dominic rushed forward, his hands raised in a desperate plea. "Marcus, please! Talk to Mr. Vance! Tell him I'll give everything back! I'll sign a confession! Just don't throw us out on the street! Natalie is pregnant!"
Marcus looked at Dominic, then his eyes moved to the ivory coat Natalie was wearing. "You didn't care about a pregnant woman when you threw your wife out of her own bed while her twins were in the NICU, Mr. Cross. The law applies to everyone equally. But in your case... it applies with the full weight of the Vance family behind it."
One of the guards walked over to Natalie, his hand resting near his belt. "Remove the coat, miss. That item is registered under the personal property portfolio of Audrey Vance. Leaving the building with it constitutes grand theft."
Natalie trembled violently, her face burning with a mixture of intense shame and terror. She slowly unbuttoned the beautiful ivory cashmere coat, the coat she had proudly bragged about just hours prior, and slid it off her shoulders, handing it over to the guard with shaking hands.
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"Ten minutes, Dominic," Marcus said, checking his watch. "After that, my men will remove you by force."
As the security team stepped back out into the hallway, leaving the apartment doors wide open for the moving crew, Dominic collapsed onto the bare floor, realizing that the golden life he had stolen had just vanished like smoke.
