Chapter 6 - The Resignation
The news hit the financial markets on Monday morning like a category-five hurricane.
BENNETT STEPS DOWN: MERIDIAN FOUNDER ABANDONS THRONE FOR MEDICAL PHILANTHROPY.
The headlines dominated every financial blog, cable news network, and morning talk show. Wall Street analysts panicked; stock shares dipped five percent before stabilizing; and Victoria Vance’s father called an emergency board meeting to challenge the sudden restructuring of the corporate bylaws.
I sat in my apartment—my actual apartment, with the drafty window and the noisy radiator—drinking black coffee and watching the chaos unfold on my small TV screen.
My phone rang. It was an unknown number.
“Bailey Cooper,” I answered.
“Are you watching?” Lucas’s voice came through the speaker, calm and steady.
“My TV is currently melting from the sheer volume of panic coming from Wall Street,” I replied dryly. “Did you really hand over voting control of the tower to a charitable trust?”
“Every single share,” Lucas said simply. “I built Meridian to conquer an empire because I thought power was the only shield against losing things that mattered. But the night my heart stopped in that elevator, I realized I was building a monument to a ghost. I don't want an empire anymore, Bailey. I want a life.”
“And what about Victoria and her father?”
“They’re currently trying to sue a trust fund managed by former federal prosecutors,” Lucas chuckled softly. “They’ll lose. Their influence in this city died the moment I stopped playing their game.”
There was a brief pause on the line. The background noise of Chicago traffic faded, replaced by the soft hum of an approaching car.
“Look out your window,” Lucas said.
I frowned, standing up from my kitchen chair and walking over to the frosted glass of my window. I pulled the curtain back.
May you like
Parked down on the snowy street below was a simple, unmarked black sedan. Leaning against the hood, wearing a heavy wool coat without a tie, was Lucas Bennett. He looked up at my window, pulled a small cell phone from his pocket, and gave a slow, deliberate wave.
My heart did a familiar, traitorous flip against my ribs.
