Chapter 5 - Vivien’s DescentWhile Valentino scrambled to piece his shattered empire together, Vivien Hale was sitting in her luxury Upper East Side apartment, sipping her morning espresso and scrolling through her phone, expecting a text from Valentino about their upcoming trip to Rome.
Instead, her doorbell rang sharply.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
Annoyed, Vivien threw on a silk robe and pulled the door open, ready to snap at a delivery driver.
Instead, three men in dark charcoal suits stood in her hallway. They weren't police officers. They wore the silent, terrifying aura of professional executioners.
"Miss Vivien Hale?" the lead man asked, his voice flat and mechanical.
"Yes?" Vivien stammered, stepping back. "Who are you?"
Without a word, the man held up a tablet displaying a series of asset seizure notices and non-disclosure injunctions.
"By order of the Visconti Family Trust and the Sicilian Vanguard oversight committee," the man stated coldly, "all gifts, jewelry, financial transfers, and properties provided to you by Valentino Visconti have been declared proceeds of corporate fraud and marital misconduct. You have two hours to vacate this apartment. All your bank accounts have been frozen."
May you like
"You can't do this!" Vivien shrieked, her face turning pale with horror. "Call Valentino! Tell him I demand to speak to him right now!"
"Mr. Visconti is currently indisposed," the man replied, stepping past her into the apartment and dropping two packing boxes onto her foyer floor. "Starting now, Miss Hale, you do not exist."
