Chapter 6
The next morning, rain swept across the glass towers of Wall Street.
Inside the private library of the Valerio Estate in upstate New York, Dominic sat behind a dark oak desk. The room was warm, filled with the aroma of aged leather and fresh espresso.
Dominic wore a clean, dark blue wool sweater over a white collared shirt. He turned the pages of a thick leather-bound audit file, his rugged face shadowed by the soft desk lamp.
Standing across from him was Thomas Vance, his longtime legal counsel and chief asset officer.
"The Cross family has been skimming off the real estate trust for six years, boss," Vance reported in a quiet, matter-of-fact tone. "Vivienne used three hundred million dollars of your liquid reserves to fund her personal private equity ventures and acquire offshore yachting concessions."
Dominic took a slow sip of espresso. "Did she think I was dead?"
"Most people did, boss. When you went dark after the Chicago consolidation, the younger generation assumed the old guards were extinct. They mistook your silence for weakness."
Dominic set the porcelain cup back onto its saucer with a delicate click. "Send notice to the clearing houses. Freeze every line of credit backed by Valerio collateral."
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"And the Cross family's personal holdings?" Vance asked.
"Leave them enough to pay their personal staff," Dominic said smoothly. "I want Vivienne to watch her empire evaporate dollar by dollar, not all at once."
