Chapter 3 - THE FIRST SHADOW
The next morning, Beatrice woke up in a bed larger than her entire bathroom in Cicero.
The sheets were Egyptian cotton, crisp and impossibly soft. Sunlight poured through the sheer curtains, bathing the room in warm gold. For a moment, she thought she was still dreaming.
Then her knees throbbed.
The physical reality of her weight and the stress of kneeling on marble brought her back to earth. She sat up slowly, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.
A silk robe was laid out for her, along with a pair of soft slippers.
When she walked out into the main living area, she found Dominic sitting at a glass dining table, drinking black coffee while reviewing documents on a tablet. He was dressed in a simple charcoal sweater and dark trousers, looking relaxed yet commanding.
"Good morning, Beatrice," he said, setting the tablet down. "How did you sleep?"
"Like I was dead," she admitted, walking over cautiously. "Dominic... this is surreal."
"Get used to it," he said, gesturing for her to sit across from him. A butler immediately stepped forward, placing a plate of poached eggs, avocado, fresh fruit, and hot tea in front of her.
"Dr. Chen came while you were sleeping," Dominic said. "He looked at the MRI scans from your hospital visit last year. Your knees are inflamed, but the structural damage isn't permanent. Physical therapy and proper nutrition will fix it in a few months."
Beatrice looked at her plate, then back at Dominic. "You don't have to fix me."
"I'm not fixing you," Dominic said firmly. "I'm giving you back the health that stress and poverty took from you."
Before she could respond, Dominic's phone chimed. He glanced at the screen, and his eyes instantly turned cold.
"It seems our friends at Caldwell & Hughes are reacting," Dominic said, sliding the phone across the table to her.
Beatrice picked it up. It was a news article on the Chicago Business Journal website:
PANIC AT CALDWELL & HUGHES: VANCE GLOBAL THREATENS TOTAL LIQUIDATION AFTER INTERNAL SCANDAL Reports suggest senior partners are scrambling to contain a massive PR crisis following allegations of workplace abuse involving senior executives Bradley Pierce and Chloe Hastings.
Below the article was a photo of Bradley Pierce, looking haggard outside his high-rise building, surrounded by reporters.
"Bradley's father, Arthur Pierce, called me six times this morning," Dominic said, sipping his coffee. "He offered to fire Bradley publicly and give you a two-million-dollar settlement if I reverse my decision to pull Vance Global's assets."
Beatrice swallowed hard. "Two million dollars?"
"It's an insult," Dominic said coldly. "They think money washes away shame. I told Arthur Pierce that his son needs to apologize to you in person—on national television—or I will buy his firm, dismantle it piece by piece, and sell the furniture."
Beatrice stared at him, shocked by his utter ruthlessness. "Dominic... you don't have to destroy an entire company for me."
"I'm not doing it just for you," Dominic said, his voice dropping into a dark register. "Caldwell & Hughes has been laundering money for Dr. Harrison Weber's private medical investment firm."
Beatrice’s fork stopped mid-air. "What?"
Dominic leaned forward, his pale blue eyes burning with an intense, calculated fire.
"The man who ruined your nursing career didn't just frame you to save his job," Dominic said slowly. "He framed you because you were looking at the charts for Arthur Pendelton. Pendelton didn't die by accident, Beatrice. He was an investor who found out Weber was using hospital funds to test illegal stem-cell therapies in offshore clinics."
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Beatrice felt the room spin. "Arthur Pendelton was... murdered?"
"And Weber made you take the fall," Dominic said. "Now do you understand, Beatrice? This isn't just about a spilled bucket on a Friday night. This is war."
