Chapter 10
Brendan stared at the historical financial documents,
his eyes darting across his father’s actual signature on the debt-assumption waivers from twenty years ago.
The final illusion of his family’s grand superiority evaporated right before his eyes,
leaving behind nothing but the stark,
ugly truth of their generational fraud.
"No,"
he whispered,
staggering backward until his legs hit the leather sofa,
causing him to collapse onto it like a marionette with its strings cut.
"No,
my father told me we were the kings of this city,
he told me we built this empire from nothing."
"Your father was a masterful actor,
Brendan,"
I said,
closing the folder with a sharp,
decisive snap that sounded like a gunshot in the quiet office.
"And you inherited his talent for deception,
but unfortunately for you,
you did not inherit his intelligence."
"You actually believed you were untouchable,
so untouchable that you could treat the woman carrying your child like a piece of garbage because she chose not to flaunt her wealth."
Brendan covered his face with both hands,
his shoulders shaking as he began to sob openly,
the pathetic,
loud tears of a spoiled child who had finally been disciplined for the first time in his life.
"Please,
Cassidy,"
he wept through his fingers,
his voice muffled and broken.
"Don't do this to me,
if you take away my job,
if you freeze my name,
I will be a laughingstock in the financial community."
"I have debts,
Cassidy!
I owe over two million dollars to private creditors for a yacht lease I signed last month,
they will come after me,
they will ruin me!"
"Then I suggest you sell the yacht,
Brendan,"
I replied cold-heartedly,
not feeling a single ounce of sympathy for his self-inflicted financial ruin.
"Oh,
wait,
you can't sell it,
because you signed the lease under a corporate subsidiary account that has already been liquidated and closed tonight."
"The leasing company will repossess the yacht tomorrow morning,
and they will sue you personally for the early termination penalties."
He lifted his tear-streaked face,
his eyes filled with a sudden,
venomous desperation as he looked at my stomach.
"The baby...
if you don't give me back my position,
I will go to the press!"
he threatened,
his voice rising into a sharp,
hysterical pitch.
"I will tell the world that the billionaire owner of the Sovereign Vanguard Trust is keeping her child away from his rightful father!"
"I will make it a public scandal that will tank your stock prices on Monday morning!"
I looked at him for a long,
silent moment,
then I tapped the console on my desk,
activating the intercom link to the reception area.
"Arthur,"
I called out calmly.
"Please bring in the compliance officers and the representatives from the District Attorney's office who arrived ten minutes ago."
The heavy oak doors opened immediately,
and Arthur entered,
followed by two serious-looking individuals wearing official federal law enforcement badges.
Brendan’s threats died instantly in his throat,
his mouth hanging open as he stared at the investigators.
"Mr. Morrison,"
the senior officer said,
stepping forward and pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt.
"We have just reviewed the forensic financial data provided by the Sovereign Trust compliance team."
"You are under arrest for grand larceny,
interstate corporate fraud,
and the unauthorized misappropriation of over one point four million dollars in corporate funds used for personal luxury real estate."
"You have the right to remain silent,"
the officer continued,
forcing Brendan’s arms behind his back and clicking the cold steel cuffs around his wrists.
"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
As they dragged him toward the private elevator,
Brendan turned his head back toward me,
his eyes wild with a mixture of terror and absolute defeat.
"Cassidy!"
he screamed,
his voice echoing down the elegant hallway.
"Cassidy,
please!
Don't let them take me!
Think of our son!"
"I am thinking of our son,
Brendan,"
May you like
I said softly to the empty room as the elevator doors closed on his cries.
"I am ensuring he never grows up to be anything like you."
