Chapter 3 - The Downfall
Three weeks had passed since the catastrophe at the engagement party, but the fallout showed no sign of stopping.
The Chicago high-society pages had branded the West family scandal as the "Betrayal of the Century." News of Evelyn West’s illegal medical cover-up and Daniel’s public humiliation had swept through every corporate boardroom in the city.
Within forty-eight hours of the party, seven major institutional investors pulled their capital from West Real Estate Group. The stock plummeted sixty percent in a single week.
Daniel sat behind his massive mahogany desk on the top floor of the West Tower, staring blankly at the dark rain beating against the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
His face was gaunt, dark circles carved deep beneath his hollow eyes. He hadn't shaved in days. His dark suit was crumpled, and the scent of amber scotch hung heavy in the air of the executive suite.
Vanessa had packed her bags and left the penthouse three days after the party, fleeing to her parents' estate in Florida after Daniel’s lawyers served her with annulment papers.
Evelyn was currently residing in a private psychiatric wing under twenty-four-hour suicide watch, her legal team frantically trying to negotiate a plea deal with federal prosecutors to avoid a ten-year prison sentence for criminal forgery and medical bribery.
Daniel was entirely alone.
The oak double doors of his office swung open.
Dominic, Daniel’s head of legal affairs, walked into the room carrying a dark leather briefcase. He looked exhausted, his tie loosened at his collar.
"Is there any good news, Dominic?" Daniel asked, his voice raspy and dead. He didn't even bother lifting his scotch glass.
"None, Daniel," Dominic replied, sitting down across from him. "The board of directors just held an emergency vote half an hour ago. They've officially removed you as Chief Executive Officer."
Daniel let out a dry, bitter laugh, taking a long sip of his drink. "Removed me. From my own family's company."
"You don't hold controlling shares anymore after your mother pledged twenty-five percent of her stock as collateral for the bank loans," Dominic explained quietly. "And there's more."
Dominic pulled a sheaf of legal documents from his briefcase and laid them across the desk.
"Vance Global Medical has completed its hostile takeover of your primary creditor bank," Dominic said. "Julian Vance now owns seventy percent of the debt held against West Tower. He is exercising his legal right to foreclose on this building, your family's lake house, and the estate."
Daniel stared at the papers. "He's stripping us of everything."
"He isn't doing it out of malice, Daniel," Dominic noted, looking at his boss with genuine sympathy. "He's doing it with clinical, corporate efficiency. He’s liquidating the corrupt assets of the West empire and transferring the proceeds into a private trust fund."
"For whom?" Daniel rasped.
"For Olivia's three children," Dominic whispered.
Daniel closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the leather chair as a fresh wave of agony washed through his chest.
Every single penny his family had hoarded, every piece of real estate they had built on arrogance and pride, was being converted into a trust fund for the children of the woman he had discarded.
"Where is she staying?" Daniel asked softly.
"Daniel, don't do it," Dominic warned firmly. "Julian Vance’s security detail is top-tier. If you go near her—"
"I don't want to hurt her!" Daniel snapped, tears brimming in his bloodshot eyes. "I just... I just need to see her. I need to say one thing to her before everything I am is completely wiped away."
Dominic hesitated for a long moment, looking at his broken friend. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh.
"She’s at the Vance Foundation's private gallery in downtown Chicago tonight," Dominic said quietly. "She's hosting a charitable exhibition for infertile couples and reproductive healthcare reform. But Daniel... please. Don't make a scene."
May you like
Daniel stood up, brushing off his jacket with shaking hands.
"I won't make a scene," Daniel whispered. "I'm already a ghost."
