Chapter 9 - The Debt Collected
As the police dragged Adrian off the stage in handcuffs, Vanessa crawled toward me on the polished wood floor, tears streaming down her ruined makeup.
"Daniel... please," she begged, grabbing the hem of my trousers. "Don't do this to me. I'm your wife! You can't leave me with nothing!"
I looked down at her—the woman who had traded eight years of marriage for a fraudster's promise of stolen luxury.
"The divorce papers you brought to my hospital bed were signed, Vanessa," I said softly, stepping back from her grip. "My attorney registered them this morning. Under the terms of our prenuptial agreement, any act of marital infidelity or financial fraud completely annuls your claim to my estate."
"No..." she whimpered. "The house... the savings..."
"The house is already seized by the court as part of the asset recovery proceeding for Vanguard Capital," Elena added, stepping up beside me. "Your personal accounts have been frozen. By midnight, your credit cards will be canceled."
Vanessa stared at us in absolute terror. "Where am I supposed to go?"
"You said it yourself, Vanessa," I replied, looking down at her with cold, unyielding clarity. "Vows don't pay hospital bills. And ambition doesn't pay for rent."
I turned my back on her as two female court officers escorted her off the stage to sign her formal deposition.
The board members who had aligned themselves with Adrian were standing near the front row, looking pale and terrified, eager to distance themselves from the fallen CFO.
Beatrice Vance stepped forward, her voice shaking as she offered a nervous, placating smile. "Daniel... Mr. Vale... we were misled! We had no idea Adrian was acting fraudulently! The board fully supports your continued leadership as CEO!"
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I looked at Beatrice, then at the rest of the board members who had sat in silence while Adrian attempted to sell the company out from under me.
"Effective immediately," I announced into the microphone, addressing the press and shareholders, "I am exercising my father's trust voting rights to dissolve the current board of directors. A new board will be appointed by the end of the week."
