Chapter 2 - STRIPPED TO ZERO“You Thought You Drained My Accounts?”
Two hours after being thrown out of Saint Aurelia Medical Center like street garbage, Dominic sat in the back of a luxury towncar outside an expensive steakhouse, his heart hammering against his ribs. Natalie was crying hysterically beside him, clutching her stomach and complaining about the humiliation.
"Shut up, Natalie!" Dominic snarled, rubbing his temples. "It’s a bluff. Audrey is an orphan! She told me her parents died when she was a teenager and left her a tiny trust fund. There’s no way she’s Arthur Vance’s granddaughter!"
"She took the coat, Dominic!" Natalie sobbed. "And those guards almost broke my arm! You promised me we were going to live in her penthouse!"
"We are going to live in the penthouse!" Dominic snapped. He pulled out his black corporate card and handed it to his driver. "Take us to the Ritz. I need a suite while my lawyers process these divorce papers. Once Audrey signs away her claim to Bennett Innovations, we'll have fifty million dollars by next month."
Ten minutes later, Dominic stood at the check-in desk of the Ritz-Carlton. The concierge swiped his card.
Declined.
Dominic frowned. "Try it again. It's an uncapped corporate card."
Declined.
"Sir," the concierge said politely, "the system states that all accounts associated with Bennett Innovations have been frozen due to suspected grand embezzlement and emergency forensic audits."
Dominic’s phone buzzed aggressively in his pocket. It was his Chief Financial Officer.
"Dominic! Where the hell are you?!" his CFO screamed through the speaker. "Vance Capital—our primary seed investor—just exercised a emergency acceleration clause! They’ve frozen every single business account, seized our office servers, and locked the headquarters! They say you misused corporate funds to purchase personal property!"
Dominic felt the room spin. "What personal property?!"
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"A sports car, offshore accounts, and... a ten-thousand-dollar cashmere coat!"
Dominic dropped the phone. It shattered on the marble floor. Audrey hadn't just protected herself—she had laid a financial trap three years ago when they first married, waiting for him to step into it.
