Chapter 4 - The Shadow of Vance Global
The reception wound down around midnight. By the time Elliot, Norah, and I stepped out into the cool autumn air of the hotel's valet portico, the stars were shining brightly over the city skyline.
Norah was fast asleep, her head resting heavily against Elliot’s shoulder, her little arms wrapped securely around his neck. He carried her with effortless ease, his custom suit jacket draped over my shoulders against the evening chill.
As our black sedan pulled up to the curb, a sleek silver Mercedes pulled in right behind us.
It was Chad.
He looked frantic. He had abandoned his jacket, his shirt collar was wide open, and his hair was wildly disheveled. He jumped out of his car before the valet could even step forward, marching directly toward us with a desperate, manic gleam in his eye.
"Clara! Wait—stop, just talk to me for one minute," Chad pleaded, holding his hands out defensively.
Elliot gently shifted Norah in his arms, turning his body to place himself squarely between Chad and me. "I’d advise you to step back, Chad. You’re trespassing on personal space, and my patience wore out approximately three hours ago."
"I’m not talking to you, Elliot!" Chad snapped, his voice cracking with hysteria. He looked past Elliot’s shoulder at me. "Clara, please. You have to tell him. Tell him how my family helped you! Tell him we gave you a life! You can't just... you can't just let him ruin us!"
I stepped out from behind Elliot’s protective bulk, looking at Chad with a chilling absence of emotion.
"Ruin you, Chad?" I asked, my voice steady and clear. "I didn't ruin you. You did that all on your own. Or did you forget that your father’s company has been under federal audit for months because of the fraudulent shell corporations you and Arthur set up?"
Chad blanched. "How... how do you know about that?"
"My firm was brought in by the federal receivership team as structural and financial forensic consultants three weeks ago," I said quietly, letting the words sink in like lead weights. "I reviewed every single one of your offshore accounts, Chad. I signed the audit report that handed the district attorney the final evidence for your impending indictments."
Chad stumbled backward as if he had been physically struck. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "You... you did that? You helped audit us?"
"You spent years telling everyone I was incompetent, hysterical, and incapable of surviving without your family's charity," I replied, stepping closer until I could see the absolute terror reflected in his wide eyes. "Turns out, I was just surviving despite you. And now, the bill has come due."
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The valet opened our car door. Elliot slid into the back seat, carefully maneuvering Norah so she wouldn't wake up, then held his hand out for me.
I took his hand, stepping up into the warm interior of the car. As the door began to close, I looked out one last time at my ex-husband, standing alone on the pavement under the harsh glare of the portico lights, a broken man in a tailored suit.
