Chapter 4 - The Ashes of an EmpireWithin forty-eight hours, the video of the altar confrontation had exploded across every global platform, racking up hundreds of millions of views under the viral hashtag #ThePriceOfGreed. The internet didn't just cancel Sebastian Thorne—they dissected him.
True to her word, Victoria’s father unleashed a corporate blitzkrieg. Stock prices for Thorne Enterprises plummeted by seventy percent overnight. Board members fled like rats from a sinking ship, calling emergency meetings to oust Sebastian as CEO. Creditors swarmed like vultures, demanding immediate repayment of multi-million-dollar loans.
Inside his ultra-luxury penthouse—now devoid of staff, who had quit fearing non-payment—Sebastian sat in the dark. The grand piano collected dust; the panoramic view of the city felt like a prison cell.
"Daddy?"
He looked up. Standing in the doorway was his older daughter, holding a simple plate of buttered toast she had managed to scrape together from the sparse pantry.
"Are we poor now?" she asked softly.
Sebastian forced a weak, broken smile, pulling her onto his lap. "No, sweetheart. For the first time in my life... I think we're finally rich."
May you like
Just then, his encrypted cell phone buzzed on the glass table. It was an unknown international number. He swiped to answer.
"Mr. Thorne," a smooth, chillingly polite voice echoed through the speaker. "The Vance family has stripped you of your throne. But someone else has been watching your redemption arc... and we have a very interesting proposition for you."
