Chapter 7 - The Unraveling Empire
Forty-eight hours after Arthur Vance’s arrest, the corporate headquarters of Vance Enterprise was in a state of absolute chaos.
Federal agents were carrying boxes of files out of the executive suites, while news helicopters circled the glass tower in downtown Chicago. Stock in Vance Enterprise plummeted sixty percent in two days—the largest collapse in the company's fifty-year history.
Inside the sprawling master study of Vance Manor, Luca sat behind his father's massive mahogany desk. He had removed his tuxedo jacket, wearing a rumpled dress shirt, his white cast resting on the wood beside an empty bottle of whiskey.
The heavy double doors opened, and Jessi walked inside, accompanied by her senior legal counsel and two private security officers.
Luca looked up, his bloodshot eyes burning with pure hatred. "You destroyed my family, Jessi. You destroyed my life. Are you happy now?"
Jessi set a thick leather folder flat on the desk before him. "I didn't destroy your family, Luca. Your father's greed destroyed it twenty-four years ago. I simply returned what was stolen."
Luca looked down at the folder. "What is this?"
"This is the official corporate restructuring agreement," Jessi explained flatly. "Patricia and I now hold seventy-five percent of the voting stock in the reorganized Sterling-Vance Foundation. Your personal assets have been frozen to cover the corporate restitution."
Luca’s breath hitched in his throat. "You're leaving me with nothing?"
"I am leaving you with your freedom, Luca," Jessi said coldly. "The federal prosecutor agreed not to press charges against you for your role in the offshore transfers, provided you surrender all claims to the estate and sign these divorce papers today."
Luca grabbed a gold pen with his left hand, his fingers trembling so violently he could barely hold the barrel. "You planned this from the very beginning. The wedding... the lace dress... everything."
"I planned to reclaim my father's company," Jessi admitted softly. "I didn't plan on breaking your hand. But you earned that yourself."
Luca stared at the divorce line for a long moment, realizing he had no leverage, no money, and no power left. With a bitter, ragged sigh, he scribbled his signature across the bottom of the page and tossed the pen onto the desk.
"Get out of my house," Luca growled softly.
May you like
Jessi picked up the signed document, sliding it neatly into her bag. "It's not your house anymore, Luca. Patricia sold the estate to a private trust this morning. You have until six o'clock to pack your bags."
As Jessi walked out of the study, Luca collapsed back into his chair, covering his face with his uninjured hand, weeping in utter, total defeat.
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