Chapter 5 - THE UNRAVELING MASK
By late afternoon, the rain began to fall in sheets over Manhattan, washing the grime from the streets but doing nothing to cleanse the rot inside the Vance family.
Dominic sat in the back of a yellow cab, his clothes soaked from the rain, clutching a cheap cardboard box containing the few personal trinkets he had managed to grab from his office before security escorted him out of the Vance Construction building.
He had no money in his checking account. His personal credit cards had all been sliced into plastic ribbons by the bank's automated fraud algorithms. The only cash he had left was three twenty-dollar bills tucked into the lining of his wallet.
"Where to, pal?" the cab driver asked, glancing in the rearview mirror with mild annoyance.
"Crestview Manor. Greenwich," Dominic rasped.
An hour later, the taxi pulled up to the grand wrought-iron gates of the Vance estate.
Dominic’s heart sank into his stomach.
Two private moving vans were parked in the circular driveway. Heavy-duty commercial locks had been installed on the main gates, and four private security contractors wearing black tactical gear stood guard by the entrance.
On the lawn, stacked in haphazard rows under large blue tarps, were dozens of cardboard storage boxes containing Victoria’s designer dresses, fur coats, and antique porcelain collections.
Standing in the pouring rain by the gate, screaming at the top of her lungs, was Victoria.
Her makeup was completely ruined, black mascara running down her cheeks like war paint. Her expensive Chanel suit was soaked through and covered in mud where she had apparently slipped on the wet grass.
"You can't do this to me!" Victoria was shrieking at the guards, rattling the iron bars of the gate. "This is my home! My son is Dominic Vance! He will have you all thrown in prison!"
"Mom!" Dominic climbed out of the cab, running toward her through the mud. "Mom, stop! Stop it!"
Victoria turned around, her face twisting in desperate relief. "Dominic! Thank God! Tell these animals to let us inside! They’ve locked the doors! They’re putting my things in cardboard boxes like I’m a common street beggar!"
"They have the legal right, Mom," Dominic said, his voice hollow and defeated. "The house belongs to Aegis Global. Audrey owns everything."
"Audrey! Audrey! Audrey!" Victoria screamed, slapping Dominic’s chest with her fists. "Stop saying that wretched girl's name! She is nothing! She was a nobody who ate our scraps! How could she own Aegis? You’re the man of this family—fix this! Call the governor! Call your fraternity brothers on Wall Street!"
"There are no fraternity brothers, Mom!" Dominic yelled back, grabbing his mother’s wrists to stop her hysterical flailing. "They all know! Sophia Sterling sent an executive brief to every major bank and hedge fund in New York! Vance Construction is in default for twenty-eight million dollars! I am ruined! We are bankrupt!"
Before Victoria could respond, the screech of tires drew their attention to the road.
A sleek black Mercedes SUV pulled up to the gates. The driver stepped out with an umbrella, opening the rear door.
Dr. Alexander Reed stepped out first, extending a hand to assist Audrey.
Audrey wore a tailored black wool trench coat, her expression serene and untouched by the rain or the chaos before her. She looked at the estate—the house where she had been belittled, starved of affection, and ultimately pushed down a staircase—with complete detachment.
"Audrey!" Dominic broke away from his mother, lunging toward the fence. "Audrey, please! Please, look at me!"
The security guards moved forward, but Audrey raised a single, gloved hand, signaling them to stand down. She walked slowly toward the gate, stopping two feet away from the iron bars.
"Audrey, I'm sorry," Dominic sobbed, pressing his face against the cold metal. Tears mixed with rain streamed down his hollow cheeks. "I didn't know about the baby. I swear to God, Audrey, if I had known you were carrying my child, I would have treated you like a queen! I would have protected you!"
Audrey looked at him with eyes as cold as arctic ice.
"That is why you are a monster, Dominic," Audrey said softly, her voice carrying effortlessly through the rain. "A good man protects his wife because he loves her. A coward only protects her when she carries his legacy."
"Audrey, please..." Dominic fell to his knees in the mud, reaching his hands through the bars to touch the hem of her coat. "I have nothing left. No company. No money. No family. I can't even have another child. You took everything from me!"
"You took my child’s life, Dominic," Audrey replied, stepping back so his fingers couldn't reach her. "I merely took back my money."
Victoria, seeing Audrey standing there so composed and untouchable, lost the last shred of her sanity. She lunged forward, grabbing a heavy rusted iron garden stake from the edge of the driveway and charging at the gate.
"You murderous little bitch!" Victoria screamed, raising the iron stake above her head. "You destroyed my family! I should have finished you at the bottom of the stairs!"
Alexander reacted instantly, pulling Audrey behind him while the security guards tackled Victoria to the ground, pinning her arms behind her back and disarming her in seconds.
At that exact moment, two New York State Police cruisers pulled into the driveway, their red and blue lights flashing against the wet pavement.
Detective Miller stepped out of the lead cruiser, holding an arrest warrant.
"Victoria Vance?" Miller asked, walking over to the pinned woman.
"Get off me!" Victoria spat, struggling against the guards. "Do you know who I am?!"
"I know exactly who you are," Detective Miller said, pulling out a pair of regulation steel handcuffs. "You are under arrest for attempted murder in the second degree, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment resulting in the termination of a pregnancy. We have the internal security tapes from inside the mansion foyer, Mrs. Vance. We saw you push her."
Dominic froze. He turned his head slowly toward his mother. "You... you pushed her on purpose?"
Victoria didn't answer. She only glared at Audrey with venomous, unrepentant hatred as the officers hauled her to her feet and shoved her into the back of the police cruiser.
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Audrey didn't watch the police car drive away. She turned her back on Dominic, took Alexander’s offered arm, and walked back toward the SUV without uttering another word.
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