Chapter 6 - The Tiger in a CageVincent DeLuca sat at the stainless-steel interrogation table in the lower level of the Manhattan Federal Courthouse, his tailored Italian wool suit looking rumpled and stained with sweat.
The door swung open, and his lead defense attorney, a high-priced shark named Arthur Sterling, walked in and dropped a thick pile of documents onto the table with a heavy thud.
Sterling didn't look like a shark anymore. He looked exhausted.
"Well?" Vincent demanded, leaning forward, his handcuffs clanking against the steel table. "Did you speak to the district attorney? What’s the bail amount?"
Sterling pulled out a chair and sat down slowly, rubbing his temples.
"There is no bail, Vincent," Sterling said quietly.
Vincent scoffed, a dark, dangerous edge returning to his voice. "Don't play games with me, Arthur. I’ve paid your firm millions over the last decade. Find a loophole. Pay off a judge. Do what you do best."
"I can't do anything, Vincent, because you don't have any money left," Sterling snapped back, his patience snapping. "Every single corporate account is frozen. Your personal credit cards have been declined. The liquid capital in your offshore accounts? Gone. Rerouted through a legal loophole so airtight the attorney general's office called it a masterclass in corporate restructuring."
Vincent stared at his lawyer, his breath catching in his throat. "Rerouted? By who?"
"By Vanguard Holdings. By your wife," Sterling said, leaning across the table. "And to make matters infinitely worse, the federal prosecutor just received a complete, audited ledger of your illicit dock operations—signed, sealed, and delivered by Evelyn DeLuca herself. They aren't offering a plea deal, Vincent. They’re looking for a minimum of twenty years."
The room seemed to spin around Vincent.
For thirty years, he had ruled his empire with an iron fist. He had believed that strength meant intimidation, that power meant control, and that women like Evelyn were merely ornaments to be displayed and discarded when they became inconvenient.
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Now, sitting in a cold federal holding room, he realized the terrifying truth:
He hadn't built an empire. He had merely been the front man for a CEO who had decided to fire him.
