Chapter 8 - Unmasking the Golden Boy
Before Jason could formulate another venomous retort, the high-pitched ringtone of his smartphone shattered the freezing silence. He pulled the device from his pocket, his eyes widening in sheer panic as he looked at the caller ID.
The screen read: *Corporate Compliance — Vanguard HQ*.
Jason froze, his finger trembling over the screen. Dad stepped closer, his weathered face tight with concern. "Jason? Who is that? Is that your office?"
"It's... it's just work, Dad," Jason squeaked, trying to shove the phone back into his coat pocket.
"Answer it on speaker," Amanda’s voice commanded sharply from the porch steps behind us.
We all turned. Amanda was standing in the doorway, her arms folded over her designer trench coat, her eyes cold, narrowed, and devoid of the admiration she usually showered upon Jason. Behind her stood Emily, holding sleeping baby Nathan wrapped in a warm fleece blanket.
"Amanda, baby, not now—" Jason started, sweating profusely despite the freezing November temperature.
"Answer it, Jason. On speaker. Right now," Amanda demanded, her voice like cracking ice. "Because if you don't answer it, I'm taking my ring off and leaving in an Uber."
Trapped, cornered, and stripped of every escape route, Jason pressed the green button with a shaking thumb and hit the speakerphone icon.
"Hello? Jason Vance speaking."
A brisk, stern voice boomed through the phone's speaker, instantly recognizable to anyone who had ever dealt with corporate legal departments.
"Mr. Vance, this is Bradley Cooper from Vanguard Senior Internal Audit. We’ve been attempting to reach you via your enterprise email for the past forty-eight hours. As you failed to respond, your corporate credentials and access to the regional office have been suspended effective 5:00 PM today."
Dad let out a sharp gasp. "Suspended?"
Jason's voice was barely a squeak. "Mr. Cooper... there must be an administrative error. I was told my promotion to Regional VP—"
"Mr. Vance," the auditor interrupted coldly, "there is no promotion. Mr. Marcus Vance-Sterling personally reviewed the secondary audit of the Eastern municipal accounts this morning. Over forty-two thousand dollars in fabricated vendor invoices have been traced directly to your personal corporate card over the last eight months. Mr. Vance-Sterling has referred the file to external legal counsel. You are expected at headquarters Monday morning at 8:00 AM for formal termination proceedings and surrender of company property, including the leased vehicle registered to your name."
The call clicked dead. The dial tone hummed through the chilly night air like a funeral dirge.
Jason stood motionless, his arm dropping to his side, the phone nearly slipping from his numb fingers.
Amanda took a slow, deliberate step back onto the porch. Without a single word, she twisted the diamond engagement ring off her left finger, tossed it onto the gravel at Jason’s feet, and walked back inside to grab her purse.
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"Jason..." Dad breathed, his voice hollow, breaking with an agony he had never shown in his life. "You stole from your company? For a car? For... for this?"
Jason sank to his knees in the dirt, staring blankly at the diamond ring gleaming against the damp stones. "It wasn't stealing... I was going to pay it back once the bonus cleared... I was going to fix it..."
