Chapter 4 - The Outcast
Back at the Westchester estate, the atmosphere had curdled from luxurious to toxic.
With Walter, Maria, and the rest of the veteran staff gone, the sprawling mansion felt cavernous, cold, and profoundly neglected. The temporary agency staff had no idea how to operate the high-tech security grid, how to regulate the climate control in the wine cellar, or how to properly prepare Margaret Marino’s specialized dietary meals.
Vanessa sat by the indoor lap pool, wearing a designer bikini and scrolling through her phone, entirely oblivious to the tension radiating through the house.
“Vanessa,” Dominic’s voice boomed as he stormed through the French doors, looking disheveled, his tie loosened and his suit jacket slung over one shoulder. “Pack your bags. You need to leave.”
Vanessa dropped her phone onto the lounger, laughing incredulously. “Are you out of your mind? Your wife is the one who walked out! Why am I being penalized?”
“Because my mother walked out too! Because my frozen assets are tied up in family court, and because my staff has deserted the estate!” Dominic yelled, his face flushing a furious crimson. “The board of directors is holding an emergency vote tomorrow morning to discuss my temporary removal as CEO. My entire life is unraveling, and you are sitting here drinking my wine!”
“I am not your scapegoat, Dominic!” Vanessa snapped, her spoiled veneer finally cracking as she stood up to tower over him. “You promised me protection! You said your wife was a pushover who would cower in the guest wing!”
“My wife,” Dominic snarled, stepping close enough that Vanessa flinched, “is currently dismantling everything I built. Get out of my house before I have security throw you out.”
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“What security?” Vanessa sneered venomously. “Your perimeter supervisor quit yesterday, remember?”
She grabbed her cream Rimowa suitcase, storming past him through the living room. As her Mercedes roared down the long gravel driveway, Dominic was left standing alone in the massive foyer, surrounded by silence, echoes, and the ghost of a marriage he had casually traded away for a momentary distraction.
