Chapter 3 - THE FIRST STRIKE
*(Word count: ~1,560 words)*
The knock on the carriage house door came at precisely eight-fifteen the following morning.
Audrey had been awake since dawn. Her body was stiff, her abdominal incision throbbing with a dull ache that reminded her of her physical limitations. But while her body was healing, her mind had never been sharper. She had showered, bound her abdomen securely in a medical-grade compression corset recommended by her obstetrician, and dressed in a high-necked navy cashmere sweater and tailored black trousers. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek, severe low ponytail.
She checked the digital security monitor on the kitchen wall.
Derek stood on the stone porch. He looked entirely different from the smug, bare-chested man lounging in their marital bed eighteen hours ago. His hair was windblown, his designer polo shirt wrinkled, and his jaw covered in a dark shadow of stubble. He held a large paper coffee cup from a local cafe in one hand and a bouquet of white lilies in the other.
Audrey walked to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open just wide enough to stand in the frame, blocking his view of the interior.
“Get off my porch, Derek.”
Derek stopped, forcing a contrite, exhausted smile that failed to reach his bloodshot eyes. “Audrey. Thank God. You turned your location services off. I had to call Henry’s wife to figure out which property you took Maisie to.”
“You have ten seconds to leave before I press the silent alarm for the county security patrol.”
“Audrey, stop it!” Derek snapped, his patience fraying instantly. He dropped the flowers onto the porch bench. “Look at me. I’ve been up all night. I haven't slept a wink. I drove around Richmond for hours. We need to talk like two grown adults.”
“There is nothing to talk about. My attorney will be in contact with your legal counsel by the end of the business day.”
Derek let out a harsh, incredulous laugh. “Your attorney? You’re calling lawyers over this? Audrey, yes, what you saw was awful. It was disgusting, and I hate myself for it. But you’ve been distant for nine months! You spent the entire third trimester sleeping in the guest room, obsessing over nursery wallpaper, ignoring me. I was lonely. I had immense pressure from the board. Sienna was… she was a distraction. It meant nothing!”
Audrey stared at him, her gaze so deadened and cold that Derek’s voice trailed off.
“You left me alone in an operating theater while a surgeon cut through my abdominal wall to save our daughter’s life because her umbilical cord was compressed,” she said, her voice dropping to a terrifyingly level pitch. “Her heart rate dropped to fifty beats per minute, Derek. I held a nurse’s hand and cried because I thought my baby was going to die, and my husband wouldn't pick up the phone because he was in our bed, having an affair with a twenty-six-year-old girl.”
Derek flinched, looking away toward the driveway. “I told you, my phone was on silent. I didn't see the notifications—”
“Seventeen calls,” Audrey continued. “And then you put your dirty gym bag on her bassinet. On my grandmother’s lace.”
“It’s just a bag, Audrey!” Derek exploded, stepping forward, his face turning an angry crimson. “You are blowing this completely out of proportion! You’re using this as an excuse to exert control, like you always do! Well, guess what? You don’t get to steal my daughter and hide out in the woods! I have parental rights! I am the CEO of Halston Logistics, I am a pillar of this community, and no family court judge in Virginia is going to look kindly on a mother who absconds with a newborn five days out of the hospital!”
“Are you finished?”
A new voice cut through the damp morning air.
Derek spun around.
Walking up the gravel path, holding a pristine leather briefcase, was Carter Vance. Flanking him was a young female associate carrying a thick, tabbed binder. Carter’s charcoal wool overcoat was buttoned neatly against the chill, his gray-streaked hair immaculately styled.
Derek’s eyes widened slightly. “Carter? What the hell are you doing here? This is a private family matter.”
“It ceased being a private family matter the moment you breached your marital contract and your corporate bylaws simultaneously, Mr. Halston,” Carter said smoothly, stopping at the base of the porch steps.
“Corporate bylaws?” Derek scoffed, though a bead of sweat broke out near his hairline. “What are you talking about? You’re Audrey’s family trust lawyer. You have nothing to do with Halston Logistics.”
“On the contrary,” Carter said, opening his briefcase and pulling out a heavy, cream-colored document stamped with the seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia. “As you are well aware, the primary corporate founding document for Halston Logistics includes an operating agreement executed eight years ago. Section 14, Subsection B: *Moral Turpitude and Corporate Asset Diversion.*”
Derek stepped back, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “What is this? What are you handing me?”
“This is an emergency petition for an ex parte injunction,” Carter stated, his voice echoing authoritatively across the quiet woodland yard. “Filed two hours ago in Henrico County Circuit Court. It freezes all joint personal accounts pending full forensic accounting. It also grants Mrs. Halston temporary sole physical and legal custody of Maisie Halston, based on evidence of parental neglect during an active medical emergency.”
“You can’t do that!” Derek yelled, lunging toward Carter.
Carter didn’t flinch. He simply raised his hand. “I advise you not to step closer, Derek. There is a dashcam operating in my vehicle, and Henry is parked fifty feet behind you. Any aggressive movement will result in an immediate criminal protective order.”
Derek froze, his hands clenching into white-knuckled fists. He turned back toward Audrey, his face twisted in a mixture of panic and fury. “Audrey, you can’t let him do this. You’re destroying my life! You’re destroying our company!”
“You destroyed it yourself,” Audrey said quietly. “When you decided that Marcus Campbell’s bankrupt real estate ventures were worth more than the integrity of our logistics network.”
At the mention of Marcus Campbell, Derek completely lost the rest of his color. The arrogant, blustering facade collapsed, exposing raw, naked terror.
“You… how do you…”
“Wren Capital holds twenty-five percent of Halston Logistics, Derek,” Audrey said, stepping back into the warmth of the carriage house foyer. “I spent last night reviewing the lease agreements for the Hanover warehouses. Forty-two percent above market rate. Unanimous board approval was required for any related-party transactions or leases exceeding five million dollars. You forged my signature on the audit waiver.”
Derek’s lips trembled. “Audrey, listen… Marcus was desperate. The banks were going to pull his loans. If Apex collapsed, the entire regional shipping corridor would have been disrupted. I was protecting our supply chain!”
“You were protecting your mistress’s allowance,” Audrey corrected coldly. “And now, you’re going to pay for it.”
Carter handed the thick envelope to Derek, who took it numbly, his fingers shaking so badly that the paper rattled.
“You have been formally notified,” Carter said. “An emergency meeting of the Board of Directors of Halston Logistics has been called for Monday morning at ten o'clock. The agenda includes the immediate suspension of Derek Halston as Chief Executive Officer, pending a full federal forensic audit.”
“Monday?” Derek gasped. “You can’t call a board meeting without my authorization! I am the Chairman!”
“Wren Capital called the meeting under special shareholder provisions,” Carter said, his voice flat and devastating. “And by the way, Derek, the locks on Riverstone Manor are currently being changed. Your personal clothing and effects have been packed into storage containers and delivered to the downtown Marriott. Do not return to the property.”
Derek looked between Carter and Audrey, his breathing ragged. “Audrey… please. Think of Maisie. She needs her father.”
“Maisie needed her father yesterday,” Audrey said. “When her heart was stopping. But you were busy.”
Audrey stepped back into the house and closed the heavy oak door.
May you like
The click of the deadbolt sliding into place was the most satisfying sound she had ever heard. Through the leaded glass window, she watched Derek stand frozen on the porch for three long minutes, staring down at the legal summons in his hands, before he stumbled down the steps like a broken man and drove away into the morning fog.
***
