Chapter 2 - The Fall of the KingThe elevator ride to the 40th floor was silent and fast. With every floor indicator that lit up, my chest felt lighter.
When the doors slid open, the executive floor was in a state of quiet confusion. Staff members were whispering at the water coolers, darting anxious glances toward the corner office. News of the altercation in the hallway had clearly spread like wildfire, but nobody knew the storm that was walking right behind me.
I walked past the reception desk, my head held high, my jagged, ruined hair exposed for everyone to see. I wanted them to see it. I wanted every single employee to witness the brutal reality of what Daniel and his mistress had done.
Evelyn flanked my right, holding the court order. Behind us walked Detective Miller and two uniformed officers from the precinct.
I didn't knock. I shoved the double oak doors of the CEO suite wide open.
Inside, Daniel was sitting behind his massive mahogany desk, sipping a glass of aged whiskey. Vanessa was sitting on the edge of the desk, swirling her glass, laughing softly. She had taken off Daniel’s suit jacket, but her smug expression remained fully intact.
"Emily?" Daniel slammed his glass down, his face instantly turning red with irritation. "What the hell is the meaning of this? I told you to go home! You can't just barge in here with—"
He stopped dead when his eyes landed on Detective Miller and the two uniformed officers behind me.
Vanessa stood up quickly, her confident posture wavering for the first time. "What is this? Is this some kind of joke?"
"Daniel Carter," Detective Miller stepped forward, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt. "We are here to execute an arrest warrant for Ms. Vanessa Brooks for felony assault, battery, and unlawful restraint."
"WHAT?!" Vanessa shrieked, dropping her glass. It shattered against the plush Italian rug, spraying scotch everywhere. "Assault?! She attacked me! She came into this office harassing Daniel!"
"We have the security footage, Ms. Brooks," Detective Miller said coldly, stepping around the desk. "The 4K camera outside the mailroom caught you pinning Mrs. Carter against the wall and using heavy-duty shears to forcibly cut her hair while she attempted to leave."
Vanessa’s face went ghastly white. She turned to Daniel, her eyes wide with panic. "Daniel! Do something! Tell them! You're the CEO of this company! Call the legal team!"
Daniel stood up, his jaw clenched, trying to muster his usual corporate authority. "Officers, listen to me. This is a private family matter. My wife is emotionally distraught, and—"
"Mr. Carter," Evelyn stepped forward, unbuttoning her crimson coat and pulling out a sheaf of legal papers. "You no longer have the authority to speak on behalf of Carter Logistics. As of 2:15 PM today, your executive power has been revoked by the Board of Directors under the instruction of the majority shareholder, Mrs. Emily Carter."
Daniel blinked, looking at Evelyn as if she were speaking a foreign language. "What... what are you talking about? I'm the CEO!"
"You were the CEO," Evelyn corrected smoothly. "You served at the pleasure of the Carter Family Trust. A trust that my client exclusively controls. Furthermore, we have served a freezing order on all your personal, joint, and corporate accounts due to evidence of grand larceny and corporate embezzlement."
Daniel’s face drained of every drop of color. He staggered back an inch, knocking into his leather chair. "Embezzlement? That's... that's absurd! I haven't embezzled anything!"
"V. Brooks Enterprises," I spoke for the first time, my voice slicing through the air like a razor blade.
Daniel froze. His eyes locked onto mine, filled with a sudden, overwhelming terror that satisfied something deep in my soul.
"Seven point two million dollars, Daniel," I said softly, stepping closer to the desk. "Transferred over eighteen months through fake shipping manifests in the Cayman Islands. Did you really think I wouldn't find out? Did you really think I was that blind?"
"Emily..." Daniel’s voice cracked. The confident, powerful CEO was gone, replaced by a terrified, cornered crook. "Emily, please... let's talk about this in private. Vanessa... Vanessa manipulated me! She set this up!"
"DANIEL!" Vanessa screamed as Detective Miller grabbed her arms, twisting them behind her back and snapping the steel cuffs around her wrists. "You coward! You told me you loved me! You told me we were going to take the company and leave her with nothing!"
"Shut up, Vanessa!" Daniel yelled, his eyes wild with desperation.
"You have the right to remain silent, Ms. Brooks," Detective Miller read her rights as he dragged a sobbing, screaming Vanessa toward the door.
As Vanessa was escorted out past the open-mouthed employees in the hallway, the full weight of the situation crashed down on Daniel. He looked at me, his hands trembling, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
"Emily... please," Daniel whimpered, taking a step toward me. "We've been married for seven years. I made a mistake. A terrible, stupid mistake. We can fix this. I'll give the money back! I'll do whatever you want!"
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I looked at him—really looked at him—and wondered how I had ever loved a man so small, so weak, and so utterly pathetic.
"You have five minutes to clean out your desk, Daniel," I said, repeating the words he had dismissed earlier. "Or security will escort you out in front of the entire company."
