Chapter 19 - The Ultimate IronyBack in Chicago, miles away from the glittering skyscrapers of Geneva and New York, Julian Vance sat at a cramped, fluorescent-lit desk in the back of a dingy logistics warehouse.
His eyes burned from staring at shipping manifests for eight hours straight. His back ached, and his hands were stained with cheap printer ink.
Across the room, an old television set mounted on the wall was playing a delayed international news broadcast.
Julian glanced up just in time to see his ex-wife's face flash across the screen. Victoria Vance, radiant, powerful, and utterly untouchable, accepting the Global Innovation Award in Geneva alongside world leaders and tech titans.
The news anchor's voice echoed through the dreary warehouse: "... Aegis Holdings continues its unprecedented meteoric rise under the visionary leadership of CEO Victoria Vance, now valued at over forty billion dollars..."
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Julian dropped his pen. It rolled off the edge of the desk and hit the concrete floor with a sharp clatter.
He buried his face in his calloused hands, finally understanding the true, crushing depth of his mother's mistake. They hadn't just discarded a wife. They had discarded an empire, handing the crown directly to the one person who knew how to rule it.
