Chapter 5 - The Cost of Treachery
Vincent was escorted out of the Moretti Tower by two armed security guards, his personal belongings crammed into a cardboard box that looked pathetically small against the rainy Chicago afternoon. The paparazzi, tipped off by an anonymous source, were already swarming the revolving doors, their cameras flashing violently as he ducked into a rideshare.
When he arrived back at the Gold Coast penthouse, seeking solace, he was met with total desolation.
The echoing silence of the stripped apartment hit him like a physical blow. The only sound was Sophia screaming into her phone in the master bedroom.
""What do you mean the wire transfer bounced?"" Sophia shrieked, pacing across the bare hardwood floor where my antique rug used to lie. She turned and saw Vincent standing in the doorway, soaked from the rain, holding his cardboard box.
She lowered the phone, her face pale. ""Vincent? What is going on? My luxury car lease payment failed, and the landlord of my old condo just called saying the renewal deposit was canceled!""
Vincent dropped the box onto the floor. ""I’ve been removed from the board.""
Sophia stared at him, her manicured hand frozen against her chest. ""What do you mean, removed? You're a Moretti!""
""My father froze my executive accounts,"" Vincent said, his voice trembling with exhausted fury. ""Claire pulled the licensing for the distribution network. The company is in crisis mode, and they’ve locked me out until the forensic audit is finished.""
""Well, how much do you have in your private accounts?"" Sophia demanded, her voice losing every trace of the sweet, fragile girl she had played over the weekend. ""Tell me you didn't leave everything in the family trust!""
""I put half my liquidity into the tech stocks that crashed last quarter, Sophia! You know that!"" Vincent yelled, stepping toward her. ""I spent the rest buying you that condo and paying off your debts! I sacrificed my marriage for you, and all you care about is your car payment?""
Sophia laughed, a harsh, grating sound that made Vincent recoil. ""Sacrificed your marriage? You told me your marriage was already dead! You told me you were the undisputed heir to a multi-billion-dollar empire! You promised Leo and me a life of luxury, Vincent. If you don't have money, what the hell am I doing living in an empty apartment with no furniture?""
""You said you loved me!"" Vincent gasped, looking at her as if seeing a monster for the first time. ""You told me you regretted marrying your ex and that I was the only man who ever truly understood you!""
""I loved the man who could buy me a penthouse,"" Sophia spat, tossing her phone onto the lone mattress on the floor. ""I don't need another broke deadbeat dragging me down with him. Call your mother. Beg her. Fix this!""
""My mother hates you,"" Vincent whispered, realization finally dawning on him in all its grotesque clarity. ""She orchestrated this whole thing.""
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""Then you better start begging Claire,"" Sophia said coldly, turning away to pack her designer bags. ""Because if I'm not back in a fully funded suite by tomorrow morning, I'm taking Leo to a hotel, and I'm charging it to your personal name. Figure it out, Vincent.""
Vincent sank down onto the edge of the bare mattress, burying his face in his hands. For months, he had convinced himself that he was a master of his destiny, juggling two beautiful women and commanding a fortune. In less than forty-eight hours, he had learned that without his father’s name and his wife’s intellect, he was nothing more than an arrogant, bankrupt middle manager.
