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"HE LEFT HIS BLEEDING WIFE FOR A FAKE HEIRESS—BUT HE HAS NO IDEA WHOSE EMPIRE HE JUST STOLE" / Chapter 5 / 6

Chapter 5 - ABSOLUTE RUIN AND THE GOLDEN HANDCUFFS

"HE OFFERED HER HIS SOUL TO SAVE HIS COMPANY—SHE OFFERED HIM A SILVER RATTLE"

Within forty-eight hours, Vanguard Development’s stock hit rock bottom.

The bank seized Chase’s assets, including the villa Adeline had decorated, his fleet of sports cars, and his personal bank accounts. Because he had personally guaranteed the loans for the lakeside project, his liability was unlimited.

Chase sat in his empty office, the utilities already shut off. The only light came from the streetlamps outside.

The door opened.

Chase looked up, a desperate spark of hope igniting in his chest. But it wasn't Adeline. It was two police officers, accompanied by Nolan Prescott and a team of federal auditors.

"Chase Vance?" the lead officer said. "You are under arrest for grand larceny, corporate forgery, and bank fraud."

Chase didn't even fight as they pulled him up and cuffed his hands behind his back. He looked at Nolan. "Where is she? Let me talk to her. Just five minutes."

Nolan walked over to the desk. He picked up a small, velvet box that had been sitting in the corner—the only thing the liquidators hadn't seized because they thought it was worthless.

He opened it, revealing the silver baby rattle.

"She wanted you to have this," Nolan said, placing it in Chase’s cuffed hands. "To remind you of what you traded for a fake empire."

Chase looked at the words Hello, Daddy.

A choking sob escaped his throat. He fell to his knees on the dusty carpet, weeping openly as the officers dragged him toward the door.

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HE SLAPPED HIS WIFE AT A CORPORATE DINNER, NOT KNOWING SHE WAS THE LEAD INVESTIGATOR HIRED TO DESTROY HIM (THE COMPLETE SAGA)

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The notification light on my phone blinked a furious, rhythmic amber. Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six missed calls. Ryan’s texts were no longer polite; they were mutating into panicked, all-caps demands. “Mom is crying hysterically. The bank is threatening default. What kind of monster cuts off a widow? PICK UP THE PHONE.”

The notification light on my phone blinked a furious, rhythmic amber. Tw...

Meanwhile, across town, Brielle Vale was arrested at O'Hare Airport as she attempted to board a flight to Switzerland with three suitcases filled with stolen corporate jewelry. Her father had already been detained at the border.

The illusion was over.

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