Chapter 5 - The First Default
"This is illegal!" Andrew suddenly exploded, lunging forward with a desperate, wild look in his eyes. "You manipulated me! You committed fraud by hiding your identity!"
Before Andrew could take another step, two of the security guards stepped smoothly into his path, their massive frames blocking him completely. They didn't strike him; they simply exerted a wall of immovable physical presence that forced Andrew to stumble backward.
"Fraud?" Victor Vance chuckled, opening another folder. "Mr. Vance, every contract you signed over the last four years included an undisclosed asset-forfeiture rider under section twelve of the primary corporate underwriting agreement. Because you failed to maintain baseline corporate solvency and triggered a moral turpitude clause—specifically by committing domestic assault on the primary shareholder—your partnership rights have been instantly terminated."
"Moral turpitude?" Margaret gasped, clutching her chest. "He slapped his own wife! Couples fight! That's not a corporate violation!"
"When the wife is the sole majority shareholder holding your entire corporate debt line, Mrs. Vance, it's a very expensive violation," Mariana retorted coldly.
Brenda’s panic finally broke through her shock. She rushed over to Andrew, grabbing his arm frantically. "Andrew, do something! Call your lawyer! Tell them to kick her out! I'm not packing my bags for some unwashed nobody—"
"Shut up, Brenda," Andrew snapped, finally realizing the terrifying magnitude of his situation. He turned back to Mariana, his voice cracking, the arrogant pride of the previous night completely melted into pathetic desperation.
"Mariana... please," Andrew choked out, taking a halting step forward, his hands trembling. "We've been married for four years. We built a life together. Okay, I lost my temper last night—I shouldn't have hit you, I was stressed about the merger... but we can fix this. Let's talk about this like adults."
Mariana looked down at him with an expression of pure, unadulterated pity—the most devastating insult she could possibly offer a man who thought he was a king.
"We are talking like adults, Andrew," she said quietly. "An adult is about to watch everything they stole get repossessed."
She turned her back on him, signaling to Victor. "Give them two hours to pack their personal clothes. Anything designer, anything purchased with corporate funds, stays in the closets."
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"You can't do this!" Margaret screamed, losing all composure as she ran toward Mariana. "You filthy little gold-digger! You're throwing us out on the street!"
"Not on the street, Margaret," Mariana said over her shoulder as she walked toward the front doors. "Just back to where you belong. Ordinary."
