Chapter 3 - The Unraveling of an Empire
Chloe spun around to face Luca, her voice breaking into a shrill, hysterical shriek. “You lied to me! You told me you owned this entire estate! You told me it was worth millions and that she was just a hired employee you were getting rid of!”
“Shut up! Just shut up!” Luca roared, sweat pouring down his temples, soaking through the expensive cashmere of his coat.
He pivoted back to Jessi, his face twisted in a mask of desperation. “Jessi, be reasonable! Even if you own the villa, Vance Capital belongs to me! If you try to fight me on the corporate structure, I will liquidate the entire development pipeline! I’ll bankrupt the firm, and you won't see a single dime of the profits!”
“You won't have to worry about liquidating anything, Luca,” Marcus Ruiz said, taking a slow, deliberate sip of his scotch. “Because my firm holds sixty percent of your short-term debt notes. And as of forty-five minutes ago, due to material breaches of corporate ethics and felony-level fund embezzlement—specifically using corporate lines for personal luxury acquisitions—Sterling Ruiz Capital has called your entire forty-two-million-dollar loan facility due immediately.”
Luca gasped, his knees buckling slightly as he caught himself on the edge of the dining table. “Forty-two million…? You can’t do that! That triggers immediate receivership!”
“It already has,” Arthur Sterling replied evenly. “The board convened an emergency session at 6:00 p.m. Jessi has been officially appointed interim managing trustee and lead conservator of all active development assets. Your corporate access, office keys, and credit cards were deactivated ten minutes ago.”
Luca collapsed into one of the dining chairs—the exact chair he had intended to watch Jessi weep from. He buried his face in his trembling hands, dry, choking sobs tearing from his throat.
Chloe stood frozen by the front door, frantically pressing buttons on her phone, only to be met with automated carrier messages indicating her lines and cards had been blocked.
Jessi picked up Luca’s pristine leather folder, opened it, and dropped it directly into the open flames of the stone fireplace. The documents flared brightly before curling into black, weightless ash.
May you like
“It’s 7:20, Luca,” Jessi said softly, the silence of the room hanging heavy around them. “You have eighteen minutes to take your mistress and get off my property before the sheriff’s deputies arrive.”
Neither of them spoke. Chloe turned and fled out the front door into the pouring rain, shielding her face in total humiliation. Luca dragged himself to his feet, unable to meet anyone’s gaze, and stumbled out into the dark night, his illusions of grandeur reduced to cinders.
