Chapter 8 - Desperate Knees on Cold Marble
The following forty-eight hours unfolded like a swift, surgical demolition of the Foster family’s fabricated prestige.
Dominic’s sudden firing from Apex Digital became front-page news in the Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch. When the financial press discovered that the startup had been kept afloat entirely by a Brooks Global subsidiary, and that Dominic had been ousted for gross misconduct and fraudulent self-dealing, his reputation in the tech community was permanently incinerated. No venture firm would return his calls. No developer would work for him.
Meanwhile, Victoria and Arthur were forced to vacate the luxury Park Avenue rental within twenty-four hours. Having spent years living far beyond their means on Dominic’s corporate perks, they were forced to pack their designer clothes into plastic garbage bags and move into a rundown two-bedroom apartment in Staten Island, paid for by Arthur’s depleted pension.
Natalie, who had bragged endlessly on social media about her brother’s tech millions, became the laughingstock of her social circle. Her influencer sponsorships dried up overnight as public outrage spread across social media over Dominic’s cruel treatment of his post-surgery wife.
On Monday morning, my father’s lead divorce attorney, Eleanor Vance—one of the most feared family lawyers in New York—served Dominic with divorce papers at his parents’ cramped apartment.
The terms were non-negotiable: Sole legal and physical custody of Leo granted to me. Dominic received supervised visitation rights restricted to two hours a month at a court-designated facility, contingent upon regular child support payments calculated from his true earning capacity.
Two days later, as I sat in the executive recovery suite on the top floor of Brooks Tower, Marcus buzzed through the intercom.
“Miss Audrey, Dominic is downstairs in the building lobby. He is refusing to leave the reception desk. He’s demanding to speak with you.”
I looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park. The morning sun was shining brightly, illuminating the golden treetops below. In the nursery across the hall, Leo was sleeping peacefully in a handcrafted mahogany crib, cared for by the finest pediatric nurses in the city. My surgical incision was healing cleanly, thanks to world-class medical attention and proper rest.
“Let him come up to the private conference room on the fifth floor, Marcus,” I said calmly. “I will speak to him for five minutes.”
When I stepped into the conference room, flanked by two security officers and Eleanor Vance, Dominic looked unrecognizable. The bespoke suit was gone, replaced by a rumpled, unwashed shirt and stained jeans. His hair was greasy, his eyes bloodshot from sleepless nights.
The moment he saw me, he collapsed onto the polished marble floor, crawling forward until Marcus stepped in front of him.
“Audrey, please have mercy!” Dominic sobbed, pressing his forehead against the cold stone. “My parents are ruined! The landlord wants first and last month’s rent that we don't have! I have ninety thousand dollars in personal credit card debt and no income! Just give me a small consulting role at Brooks Global! Anything! I’ll sweep the floors!”
I looked down at him from the conference chair, my voice calm, steady, and utterly devoid of emotion.
“Two days ago, Dominic, you looked at your wife holding your five-day-old son and decided fifty dollars was enough for our safety,” I said. “You didn't care if my stitches tore. You didn't care if your baby froze on a public sidewalk. You only cared about your spicy rigatoni and your mother's vanity.”
“I was an idiot! I was blinded!” he begged. “Please, Audrey! We took vows before God!”
“You broke those vows the second you closed the car door and drove away,” I answered. “Sign the custody agreement, Dominic. Sign the waiver of all claims against Brooks Global. If you sign, my father will not pursue criminal fraud charges for your company card expenses. You will walk away a free man to rebuild your life from scratch, with your own two hands.”
Dominic stared at the thick legal documents on the table. He knew he had no choice. With trembling hands and tears soaking the heavy bond paper, he picked up the pen and signed away every claim he had ever held.
May you like
When he finished, he looked up at me with hollow, desperate eyes. “Can I at least see my son?”
“When you become a man who understands what fatherhood truly means,” I replied softly. “Not a day sooner.”
