Chapter 6 - The Unraveling
The following Monday morning, a heavy storm rolled over Chicago, drenching the city in cold, unrelenting rain.
Inside the executive suite of Bennett Biotherapeutics, chaos had descended. Process servers had spent the weekend delivering three separate class-action lawsuits from furious shareholders. The company's legal team had resigned en masse after realizing Richard Bennett had lied about the status of the IP ownership.
Ethan Caldwell sat in his corner office, staring blankly at his laptop screen. His venture capital firm, Caldwell Holdings, had backed Bennett Biotherapeutics with fifteen million dollars of client money. With the stock worthless and the IP gone, Ethan’s investors were threatening him with criminal fraud charges.
The heavy mahogany door to his office slammed open.
Richard Bennett rushed in, his face pale, his tie undone, holding a crumpled legal document in his trembling hand.
"Ethan!" Richard yelled, his voice cracking with hysteria. "Did you see this? First National Bank just sold our debt to Sterling-Vance Capital! They’ve filed an emergency motion for immediate receivership!"
Ethan slowly looked up, his eyes bloodshot and hollow. "It's over, Richard."
"What do you mean it's over?" Richard shouted, slamming his hand on Ethan’s desk. "We can fight this! We can claim Emily acted in bad faith! We can sue her for corporate sabotage!"
"With what money?" Ethan snapped, standing up, his polished composure completely gone. "We don't have five thousand dollars left in the operational account! My investors are calling the FBI, Richard! The FBI!"
Just then, Lily walked into the office, wearing an expensive designer tracksuit, holding a paper coffee cup. "Ethan, sweetie, the landlord at my apartment building said my rent check bounced. Can you write him a check from your personal—"
"Shut up, Lily!" Ethan screamed, turning on her with venomous rage. "Just shut the hell up!"
Lily gasped, dropping her coffee cup onto the expensive carpet. "Ethan! How dare you speak to me like that!"
"I lost everything because of you!" Ethan yelled, pointing a shaking finger at her face. "I traded a brilliant, world-class scientist who built a multi-million-dollar company for a spoiled, useless brat who can't even pay her own rent!"
"Ethan!" Richard roared, stepping toward the younger man with fists clenched. "You will not talk to my daughter that way!"
"Your daughter is a financial anchor!" Ethan spat, grabbing his coat from the leather chair. "You lied to me, Richard! You told me Emily would fall in line! You told me she was weak, that she would do whatever you told her to do because she desperate for your approval!"
"Get out," Richard whispered, his body shaking with rage.
"Gladly," Ethan sneered, shoving past Lily, knocking her purse off her shoulder, scattering her lipsticks across the floor. "Enjoy bankruptcy, Richard. I'm going to hire a criminal defense lawyer."
Ethan stormed out of the office, slamming the door so hard the glass pane cracked down the center.
Lily dropped to her knees on the stained carpet, sobbing uncontrollably as she tried to gather her belongings. "Dad... Dad, what are we going to do?"
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Richard stood in the center of the room, looking around at the plush leather furniture, the gold-plated awards on the wall, the panoramic view of the Chicago skyline.
For the first time in his life, Richard Bennett realized that without his eldest daughter, he was nothing at all.
