Chapter 5 - BLOOD IN THE WATER
The fallout from the boardroom massacre was instantaneous and brutal. By Wednesday afternoon, the financial news networks were running non-stop coverage of the collapse of Reed Financial. The Wall Street Journal published a damning expose on Damian's over-leveraged accounts, while Forbes speculated on the identity of the mysterious Apex Capital representative who had single-handedly detonated a billion-dollar merger.
Inside the opulent Vanguard Estate, Chloe sat in the sunroom, sipping a decaf latte while watching the financial markets hemorrhage Damian's net worth in real-time. Elias sat across from her, quietly reviewing legal documents.
"He's trying to liquidate his personal portfolio to cover the margin calls," Elias reported, not looking up from his tablet. "But the market caught wind of the panic. His stock is in freefall. He's lost sixty percent of his net worth in forty-eight hours."
Chloe rubbed her belly, feeling the baby perform a series of energetic rolls. "What about his personal accounts?"
"Frozen," Elias smiled grimly. "Not temporarily, like he did to you. Permanently. The SEC has stepped in to investigate the sudden collapse of the merger. They've put a freeze on all his assets pending a federal audit."
While Chloe remained insulated in her fortress of wealth and security, the reality for Damian and Scarlet was rapidly descending into a nightmare.
In a rented, moderately priced hotel room in midtown—because Elias’s security team had aggressively enforced their eviction from the penthouse—the tension between the disgraced CEO and his mistress had reached a boiling point. The room was littered with empty scotch bottles and discarded takeout containers.
Damian was pacing the floor, shouting into his cell phone. "What do you mean my card was declined? Run it again! I am Damian Reed! ... Hello? Hello!?" He threw the phone violently against the wall, shattering the screen.
Scarlet sat on the edge of the unmade bed, her perfect hair unwashed, wearing wrinkled designer clothes. "Damian, my credit cards are bouncing too," she said, her voice rising in shrill panic. "They're tied to the corporate account. The hotel management called up an hour ago. If we don't provide a working card by noon, they're throwing us out."
Damian turned on her, his eyes bloodshot and wild, the charming facade completely stripped away. "Then pay for it yourself! You're a vice president, aren't you? Use your own money!"
Scarlet scoffed, standing up and crossing her arms defensively. "My money? I spent my money maintaining the image required to be seen with you! I don't have savings to cover a luxury hotel suite indefinitely. You promised me a penthouse! You promised me a seat on the board of a billion-dollar company! Instead, I'm a laughingstock. The board is blaming me for distracting you. I'm blacklisted in the industry!"
"You're blacklisted?" Damian roared, invading her personal space. "My company is dead! My wife—my billionaire-backed wife—is systematically destroying my life, and you're complaining about a hotel bill? If you hadn't pushed me to kick her out so fast, if you hadn't insisted on moving into the penthouse immediately, maybe none of this would have happened!"
"Don't you dare put this on me!" Scarlet screamed back, pushing his chest. "You're the one who thought she was a naive little housewife. You're the one who underestimated her. I'm not staying here to go down with your sinking ship."
Scarlet practically ran to the closet, violently throwing her expensive clothes into her luggage.
"What are you doing?" Damian demanded, sudden panic replacing his rage. "You can't leave me! We're in this together!"
"I was in this for the merger, Damian," Scarlet spat, zipping her suitcase shut with finality. "I was in this for the power. You don't have any left. You're broke, you're under federal investigation, and you're pathetic."
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She didn't look back as she marched out of the hotel room, the door slamming shut behind her with a definitive, echoing thud. Damian collapsed onto the edge of the bed, burying his face in his hands as the true, horrifying reality of his situation finally settled in. He had traded a loyal, brilliant woman carrying his child for a gold-digger who abandoned him the second his accounts dried up. He had gambled his entire life on an illusion, and he had lost everything.
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