Chapter 4 - The Confrontation
In the private conference room on the mezzanine level, Courtney sat at the head of the long oak table, tapping her manicured nails impatiently. When Grant walked in, flanked by Marcus and two corporate attorneys carrying heavy leather briefcases, she immediately put on a pouty, tearful face.
""Grant, thank God! Tell your security goons to give me back my phone!"" she demanded, rising to her feet and smoothing down her designer dress. ""Do you have any idea how humiliating this is? People saw them escorting me down here like a common criminal!""
Grant did not sit down. He tossed a thick stack of printed emails and bank records directly onto the center of the table. The papers fanned out, exposing bank account numbers, surveillance photos, and wire receipts.
Courtney glanced down at the top page, and every drop of arrogance evaporated from her posture. Her throat bobbed as she tried to find her voice. ""Grant... this... this is a misunderstanding. Competitors are trying to frame me—""
""Shut up, Courtney,"" Grant said, his tone icy enough to freeze fire. ""Or should I call you Courtney Vance?""
The name struck her like a physical blow. She stumbled back against her chair, her hands gripping the armrests for support.
""You thought you were so clever,"" Grant continued, pacing slowly toward her. ""You poisoned my wife. You forged my name on legal mail. You stole two million dollars from our joint accounts and hid it in the Caymans. And worst of all, you hid the existence of my twin sons from me for five years.""
""They aren't yours!"" she screamed, her mask finally slipping off completely, revealing the venomous hatred underneath. ""She was a nobody, Grant! A boring, plain nobody who didn't deserve you! Your father destroyed my family! He drove my father to a stroke! Everything you built belonged to the Vance family first! I took back what was rightfully ours!""
""Your father went bankrupt because he was running a fraudulent construction syndicate,"" one of the corporate attorneys chimed in, opening a blue folder. ""We have already contacted the District Attorney's office. An arrest warrant for wire fraud, corporate espionage, grand larceny, and felony extortion is being processed right now.""
Courtney let out a sharp, hysterical laugh. ""You can't prove anything! Those digital files won't hold up in court! And even if you fire me, good luck keeping your company afloat when the press finds out you abandoned your pregnant wife five years ago! I'll leak the story to every tabloid in America before sunrise!""
""You won't leak anything,"" Marcus said, stepping forward and showing her his tablet. ""Because the moment you threatened Natalie at that day care three days ago, you were standing on property covered by four high-definition commercial security cameras with audio recording. You admitted on tape that you forged the divorce evidence to push her out. We own you, Courtney.""
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Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder as police cruisers pulled up outside the hotel entrance. Courtney’s knees gave out, and she sank onto the floor, weeping bitter tears of rage as the realization of her total defeat settled over her.
Grant turned his back on her without another word. ""Take her away,"" he told Marcus. ""I never want to see her face again.""
