Chapter 6 - The Freezing of the Penthouse
By midnight, the news of Vincent Moretti's sudden ousting had broken across the financial pages of every major publication in Chicago.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: PATRIARCH PURGES CEO IN SHOCK MORETTI ENTERPRISES SHAKEUP.
CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS: ARTHUR MORETTI RESUMES EXECUTIVE CONTROL; VINCENT STRIPPED OF ALL OPERATIONAL PRIVILEGES.
I sat in the master bedroom of the forty-fourth-floor penthouse on Lake Shore Drive, nursing Leo in the soft glow of a nursery lamp.
My best friend, Madison, sat on the edge of the bed, her laptop open, monitoring the avalanche of corporate press releases.
"The board released a statement at eight PM," Madison said, turning the screen toward me. "They cited 'unauthorized allocation of proprietary capital and irreconcilable breaches of fiduciary governance.' They didn't even mention the mansion, but every insider in the Loop already knows the whole story."
"Vincent's pride won't survive this," I murmured, watching Leo drift off to sleep against my chest.
"His pride is the least of his problems," Madison snorted. "My husband's firm handles municipal tax assessments in Lake County. The annual property taxes on that Barrington mansion are two hundred and forty thousand dollars a year. Without Vincent's corporate salary and executive bonuses, Sophia will have to sell that house within six months just to pay the landscaping bills."
The private elevator in the foyer chimed with a sharp, mechanical ding.
The heavy steel doors opened, and heavy, uneven footsteps echoed across the polished oak floorboards.
Vincent walked into the bedroom.
He had spent the last six hours drinking; the stench of high-end scotch preceded him like a cloud of poison. His tie was gone, his collar torn, and his eyes were bloodshot and swollen from weeping.
"Madison, get out," Vincent ordered, slurring his words slightly as he leaned against the doorframe.
"Madison stays," I said, not looking up from Leo. "If you take one more step into this room, Vincent, building security will have you removed under the emergency protection order Arthur's attorneys filed two hours ago."
Vincent stopped dead, clutching the doorframe as if the floor were tilting beneath him.
"You got a protection order?" he whispered, his voice cracking into pieces. "In my own home?"
"It’s not your home anymore, Vincent," I replied evenly. "The deed to this penthouse was held under the Moretti Family Residential Trust. Leonardo transferred the occupancy rights exclusively to me and Leo at six o'clock this evening."
May you like
Vincent stared at me, the harsh reality of his total exile crashing down on him.
"Claire... please," he sobbed, sliding down the doorframe until he was sitting on the floor, his knees drawn up to his chest like a ruined child. "I lost everything today. My company, my title, my father, my grandfather... don't take my son from me. Please don't take Leo."
