Chapter 8 - Stripped Bare
One of the federal marshals stepped forward, handing Cole a thick packet wrapped in blue backing paper.
"Cole Whitmore, you are hereby notified of a federal asset freeze issued by the Southern District of New York. All personal bank accounts, domestic and foreign, are frozen pending grand jury review."
Cole stared at the paper, his hands trembling violently. "Lauren... please. We have children. Think about Leo and Lily. You can't do this to their father!"
I stood up. I didn't yell. I didn't cry. The weakness he had nurtured in me for five years had burned away in the cold December snow, leaving only the woman I was born to be.
"I am doing this *for* my children," I said, walking slowly around the table toward him. "I will not let my son grow up thinking a man asserts strength by bruising a woman's wrists. And I will not let my daughter grow up watching her mother beg for permission to buy groceries while her father buys diamonds for strangers."
"Lauren, I made a mistake!" he begged, his knees buckling slightly. "I was drunk! I was stressed! I'll go to therapy! I'll give you everything back!"
"You don't have anything to give back," I said softly, looking him dead in the eyes. "Because you never owned anything. Every chair in this room, every brick in our home, every tailored stitch on your back was paid for by the Bennett Trust. And today, the Trust is evicting you."
I turned to the board members. "Gentlemen, as seventy percent equity holder of this firm, I move to remove Cole Whitmore as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. All in favor?"
Every single hand at the table went up without a second's hesitation.
May you like
"Motion carried," I said. "Officers, please escort Mr. Whitmore out of my building."
The marshals took Cole by the elbows. He didn't fight. He was trembling, sobbing quietly as he was dragged toward the elevators, his polished facade shattered completely in front of the people who had bowed to him for half a decade.
