Chapter 7 - The Boardroom Execution
The manager of Carbone, having witnessed the entire spectacle, approached the table with a cold, professional expression, holding a leather bill presenter.
“Excuse me, Mr. Foster,” the manager said, presenting the check directly to Dominic. “The corporate card you provided earlier has been declined by the issuing bank. The balance for your table is six thousand four hundred and twenty dollars. How would you like to settle this?”
Dominic frantically fumbled through his designer wallet, pulling out three different personal credit cards with shaking hands. “Try this one! Or this one! There’s credit on them!”
David Vance smiled thinly. “Those personal cards were secured against your equity in Apex Digital, Dominic. Since your equity is worthless, your lines of credit were automatically frozen thirty minutes ago. Try your debit card.”
Dominic stared at his banking app on his phone. The screen displayed a balance of four hundred and twelve dollars.
Victoria began weeping hysterically, tugging at her husband’s sleeve. “Arthur, pay it! Pay the bill and let’s get out of this horrible place!”
Arthur pulled out his worn leather wallet, his hands trembling with humiliation. He produced a standard credit card, his head bowed in deep shame, as the manager swiped it. The transaction cleared, draining almost all of Arthur’s modest retirement savings in a single swipe to cover the lavish meal they hadn't even finished eating.
“Now,” my father said, turning his piercing gaze toward the entire Foster family. “If any member of your family ever attempts to contact my daughter, approach my grandson, or set foot within five hundred yards of a Brooks property, my legal team will file criminal restraining orders and initiate civil fraud proceedings for every dime you misappropriated from Vanguard Horizon. Do I make myself entirely clear?”
Dominic fell to his knees right there on the parquet floor of Carbone. Tears of absolute desperation streamed down his cheeks, ruining his carefully curated image in front of Manhattan’s elite.
“Audrey! Please! Forgive me!” he wailed, reaching out toward the hem of my coat. “Think of Leo! He needs a father! We can go to counseling! I’ll change, I swear to God I’ll change! Don’t destroy my life like this!”
I looked down at the man I had once believed was my soulmate. I felt no anger anymore. I felt no urge to scream or strike him. All I saw was an empty, selfish stranger who had shown his true colors the moment he thought he held power over me.
“Leo already has a family,” I said, resting my hand gently over my sleeping baby. “He has a mother who will protect him with her life. And he has a grandfather who knows the meaning of honor. You were never a father, Dominic. You were just a man who wanted a luxury car.”
I turned my back on him.
May you like
Flanked by my father, Marcus, and our security team, I walked out of Carbone with my head held high. Behind us, the dining room erupted into hushed murmurs and mocking laughter as Dominic remained on his knees, surrounded by his weeping mother and ruined sister, unable to look anyone in the eye.
Outside, the rain had stopped. A sleek, heated Brooks Global limousine waited at the curb, its door held open by a smiling attendant. As my father helped me into the warm, spacious interior, I breathed in the fresh air of true freedom for the first time in two years.
