Chapter 2 - The Fall of the House of Morrison
The silence in the dining room was so absolute you could hear the rain beginning to tap against the tall, arched bay windows.
Diane let out a sharp, hysterical laugh that cracked at the edges. “You? The owner of Vantage Apex? You were a broke, pathetic nobody waiting tables at a low-end hotel when Brendan picked you out of the gutter! You didn't even have enough money to buy your own engagement dress!”
“I was twenty-three years old, grieving the death of my grandfather, and utterly exhausted by people who loved money more than human beings,” I replied quietly. “I hid my identity because I wanted to find one person—just one—who would look at Cassidy Vance and see a woman worth loving, not an empire worth plundering.”
My eyes shifted to Brendan, whose face had turned a sickly shade of ash grey.
“When I met you, Brendan, you were working as a middle-level logistics manager. You were sweet. You brought me warm soup when I was sick. You told me you didn't care about luxury, that all you wanted was a simple life with a family. So I kept my secret. I pushed Arthur to quietly approve your promotions. I signed off on your transfer to the executive tier. I gave your mother this house through a blind corporate land trust so she wouldn't have to live in a cramped townhouse after your father’s bankruptcy.”
Diane gasped, her hand flying to her throat as she looked down at the floor beneath her feet. “This house... this is my house! The deed is in my name!”
“The deed is held by Morrison Holdings LLC, a wholly-owned shell subsidiary of Vantage Apex Real Estate,” I corrected her, my tone as cold as the water she had dumped over my head ten minutes earlier. “You never owned a single brick of it, Diane. You were merely an authorized tenant paying a subsidized rent of one dollar a month—a dollar that was automatically deducted from my personal dividend account.”
Jessica sank down onto a dining chair, her knees giving out beneath her. “No... no, no, no... my clothes... my car...”
“The Porsche you drive is a corporate fleet vehicle registered to the Midwest regional office,” I said calmly. “The lease was canceled three minutes ago. If you drive it past midnight, the GPS tracking system will report it as stolen to the Cook County Sheriff’s Department.”
“Cassidy!” Brendan suddenly lunged forward, reaching out his hands as if to grab my arms, but he stopped himself the moment I took a step back, my eyes locking onto his with terrifying intensity.
“Don't touch me,” I said quietly. “You lost the right to stand within five feet of me the moment you let your mother pour filthy water over the woman carrying your daughter.”
“Cassidy, please!” Brendan’s voice broke into a desperate, panicked whine. He dropped to his knees right there in the pool of dirty water on the carpet, clutching at the hem of my soaked trousers. “I didn't know! I swear to God I didn't know! My mother... she’s old-fashioned, she’s cruel, you know how she is! I was just stressed about work! I love you! I love our baby!”
“You loved the promotion I gave you,” I replied, looking down at him with a mixture of pity and disgust. “You loved the country club membership I paid for. And when you thought I was nothing but a helpless, broke woman who had nowhere else to go, you watched your sister call my baby a bastard, and you laughed.”
A loud, thunderous knock echoed through the front foyer of the mansion, rattling the heavy double doors.
Diane jumped, spilling the rest of her wine across the table. “Who is that?! Who is at my door?!”
Before anyone could move, the heavy oak doors opened.
Four men in sharp, charcoal-grey suits walked into the marble foyer, led by a tall, silver-haired man carrying a black leather briefcase. He walked with the relaxed, iron-clad authority of a man who owned every room he stepped into.
Arthur Pendelton. Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs for Vantage Apex Global.
Behind Arthur walked two uniformed officers from the private corporate security force, accompanied by three men in black tactical vests bearing the official seal of the state auditor's office.
Arthur stepped into the dining room, his polished shoes treading carefully over the wet rug. He glanced at Brendan kneeling on the floor, then at Diane clutching her wine glass like a weapon, and finally at me.
His face softened instantly with deep, genuine concern.
“Cassidy,” Arthur said, stepping forward and taking off his expensive wool overcoat, draping it gently around my wet, shivering shoulders. “My God, child. Look at you. They did this to you?”
“I’m fine, Arthur,” I said softly, pulling the warm, dry coat tightly around my chest. “The baby is fine.”
Arthur’s face hardened into a mask of pure, razor-sharp steel as he turned toward the Morrison family.
“Brendan Morrison,” Arthur said, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings. “As of 7:42 PM, your employment with Vantage Apex Global and all associated entities is terminated for cause. You are under investigation for corporate fraud, embezzlement of executive funds, and grand larceny regarding the unauthorized diversion of logistics accounts.”
Brendan’s jaw dropped. “Fraud?! I didn't embezzle anything!”
“You diverted two hundred thousand dollars from the regional marketing budget to pay for your sister’s wedding in Cabo last summer,” Arthur replied coldly, pulling a thick stack of documents from his briefcase. “You assumed nobody would notice because you were married to the primary heir. You were wrong. I noticed two months ago. Cassidy asked me to hold the indictment because she believed you were changing.”
Brendan looked at me, his eyes wide with absolute, horrifying realization.
“As for the property,” Arthur continued, turning to Diane, who was leaning against the table for support. “Morrison Holdings LLC has been formally dissolved. This residence is now seized by Vantage Apex Real Estate. You have fifteen minutes to gather your personal identification and leave the premises. Security will escort you to the gate.”
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“You can't throw me out of my home!” Diane shrieked, her voice turning into an ugly, shrill scream. “I am Diane Morrison! My family has lived in Chicago for four generations!”
“And for four generations, your family has been living on borrowed time and other people’s money,” Arthur replied without a hint of emotion. “Officers, secure the perimeter. Change the access codes on the gate. If any of these three individuals resist, arrest them for criminal trespass.”
