Chapter 2 - The Fall of the President
The legal shockwave hit Julian before he could even re-enter the house.
Arthur waved his hand, and the lead corporate attorney, Mr. Sterling, stepped forward with a thick manila envelope.
"Julian Vance-Ross," Mr. Sterling declared in an official tone, "as of 2:15 p.m. today, by unanimous vote of the Board of Directors, your employment as Regional President of Vance Industries has been terminated for cause. Effective immediately, your corporate access, company vehicles, expense cards, and executive privileges are revoked."
Julian’s jaw dropped. "You can't fire me! Tomorrow is the merger with the Ainsley Group! I am the architect of that deal!"
"You were the architect," Arthur corrected smoothly. "Until we discovered that you leaked confidential valuation metrics to your mistress's private offshore account to short our stock prior to the announcement."
Serena gasped, stumbling back against the stone pillar of the porch. "Julian... you said they wouldn't find those transfers!"
"Shut up, Serena!" Julian screamed, turning on her with venomous rage.
The illusion of their glamorous, secret romance dissolved in seconds into bitter self-preservation. Serena backed away from him, her hands trembling as she unclasped my mother’s emerald necklace and tried to hand it toward me.
"Elena... please," Serena wept, her tears smearing her makeup. "I didn't know! He told me you were just an unemployed leech who was draining his bank account! He told me he owned this estate!"
"Keep your hands off my mother’s jewelry," I said, my voice cold and unyielding. One of Arthur’s security guards stepped in, carefully taking the emerald necklace from Serena's shaking fingers and handing it to me in a velvet pouch.
"As for you, Miss Lane," Mr. Sterling added, addressing Serena, "you are also terminated from Vance Industries. Furthermore, local police officers are currently en route to process charges for grand larceny regarding stolen personal property and corporate embezzlement."
Sirens echoed in the distance, their high-pitched wails growing louder as they turned into the gated community.
Julian panicked. He grabbed my arm, his face desperate and pleading. "Elena! Please! Think of Maya! We're a family! We can fix this! I'll go to therapy, I'll sign a post-nuptial agreement, I'll do whatever you want! Don't let them do this to me!"
I looked down at his hand on my sleeve, then up at his eyes—the same eyes that had looked at me with bored contempt just thirty minutes earlier.
"Neither of us belongs here, Julian," I repeated his own words back to him, stepping back so Arthur's security officers could block him. "You said it yourself."
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Two police officers pulled up in a patrol car, stepping out onto the driveway. Within five minutes, Serena was placed in handcuffs for the stolen jewelry and embezzlement charges, while Julian was served with an emergency protective order and a formal notice of eviction from the estate.
As the police car drove away, Julian looked back through the rear window, his face pale against the glass as he watched his entire life, career, and reputation shatter on the lawn beside his daughter's broken crib.
