Chapter 5 - The First Strike
The retaliation came swiftly, and it came dirty.
On Thursday afternoon, Audrey stepped out of Daniel’s private elevator into the lobby of Sinclair Tower for a meeting with the district attorney. Two armed security guards flanked her, dressed in sharp black suits. Audrey wore an ivory crepe power suit tailored specifically for her that morning, her dark hair swept up in a flawless chignon, concealing the faint scars on her scalp.
The glass doors slid open, and the lobby erupted.
Lucas Vance stood in the center of the marble rotunda, flanked by two disgraced PR fixers and an aggressive squad of private paparazzi he had clearly tipped off himself. His face was swollen where Daniel had struck him two nights earlier, his left eye bloodshot and bruised, but his suit was pristine, his arrogance unchecked.
"Audrey!" Lucas shouted, his voice echoing through the vaulted space. The flashes of cameras went off instantly. "Look at you, parading yourself into another billionaire’s bed before our marriage is even legally dissolved!"
Audrey stopped. Her stomach twisted into knots, an old reflex of terror shooting through her veins. But then she felt a presence behind her. Daniel stepped through the elevator doors, tall, imposing, radiating an aura of cold, lethal authority that made the security guards immediately stand at attention.
Daniel didn't shout. He placed a steady, reassuring hand at the small of Audrey’s back. The simple touch anchored her.
Audrey took a slow, deliberate breath, lifted her chin, and walked straight toward her husband.
"Lucas," she said, her voice carrying clearly over the click of camera shutters. "You’re violating the temporary restraining order my attorneys served on you three hours ago."
"Restraining order?" Lucas sneered, laughing mockingly for the cameras. "You think you can play the victim, Audrey? You attacked Naomi! You pushed her down the stairs, you harassed my associates, and when I tried to restrain you at the gala, you staged a scene with Sinclair! You’re an unstable, vindictive woman trying to extort my family's legacy!"
He took an aggressive step toward her, pointing a finger directly at her face. "You come home right now, or I swear to God I will release every private email, every medical record, and expose you as the neurotic fraud you are!"
Before Lucas could finish the sentence, Daniel stepped forward, eclipsing Audrey completely.
Daniel moved with terrifying speed. In one fluid motion, he grabbed Lucas’s outstretched finger, twisted it sharply until Lucas let out a high-pitched yelp of pain, and slammed him chest-first against the nearest marble pillar.
"Touch her or threaten her again," Daniel whispered directly into Lucas’s ear, loud enough for the reporters’ directional microphones to pick up every syllable, "and you won't live long enough to stand trial for grand larceny."
Lucas grimaced in agony, his face turning crimson. "Sinclair... you're assaulting me... in front of cameras!"
"No," Daniel replied coldly, releasing him with enough force that Lucas stumbled back against his terrified PR team. "I’m exercising legal authority as the primary lienholder of Vance Enterprises. As of twenty minutes ago, Sinclair Capital purchased sixty-five percent of your company's delinquent commercial debt from Deutsche Bank."
Lucas froze. The color drained completely from his face, leaving the bruises beneath his skin looking sickeningly dark. "What?"
"You owe my firm eighty-five million dollars, due in forty-eight hours," Daniel said smoothly, adjusting his cufflinks. "And unless you want the federal marshals seizing your penthouse, your cars, and your mistress’s jewelry by Friday afternoon, I suggest you get out of my building."
May you like
Audrey stepped up beside Daniel, meeting her husband's horrified, frantic gaze. For the first time in three years, she didn't feel fear. She felt absolute, unyielding power.
"See you in the boardroom tomorrow morning, Lucas," Audrey said coldly.
