Chapter 4 - THE HALE EMPIRE CRUMBLES
At the Hale estate, the atmosphere was growing increasingly frantic.
The investment dinner with Vanguard Capital had been an awkward disaster. Daniel had claimed Clara was in the hospital, but Mr. Sterling, the managing director, had insisted on calling the hospital directly to send flowers—only to be told that Clara had been discharged three days prior and was nowhere in the facility's records.
Suspicion had begun to brew among the investors.
To make matters worse, Daniel sat in his corner office at Hale Capital, staring at an urgent red envelope delivered by a courier.
"What do you mean rejected?!" Daniel screamed into his desk phone, slamming his fist onto the polished wood. "We spent eight months preparing the Montgomery Terminal lease! Who authorized this decision?"
"Mr. Hale," the corporate attorney on the other end of the line replied nervously. "The order came directly from the primary trustee of Montgomery Maritime. The trust was unlocked four days ago."
"Who is the trustee?" Daniel demanded, sweating through his silk shirt. "Give me a name! I'll fly out to meet them personally! I'll double our revenue share offer!"
"The sole owner and chairperson of the trust is Mrs. Clara Montgomery-Hale."
Daniel froze. The phone almost slipped from his trembling fingers.
"W... what?" Daniel stammered, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. "Clara? That's impossible! Her father was a high school teacher! She doesn't own anything!"
"The public filings were updated this morning, Mr. Hale. Clara Montgomery holds 100% voting power. Furthermore, she has issued a formal notice barring Hale Capital from ever placing a bid on any Montgomery property."
Before Daniel could process the crushing blow, his office door burst open.
Mr. Sterling, the powerful lead investor from Vanguard Capital, marched into the office accompanied by two corporate auditors. His face was thunderous.
"Daniel!" Sterling boomed, slamming a tabloid newspaper onto Daniel's desk. "Explain this immediately!"
Daniel looked down at the front page. A high-definition photo showed Vivian throwing the bucket of dirty water at my swollen feet, taken directly from the mansion's ring doorbell security footage—which Julian had legally subpoenaed and released to the press.
The headline read: Hale Capital CEO Demands Injured Postpartum Wife Scrub Floors While Concealing Her Multi-Million Dollar Inheritance.
Daniel turned ash-white. "Mr. Sterling... please! This is a smear campaign! My wife is suffering from postpartum psychosis! She leaked this to ruin me!"
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"Shut your mouth, Daniel!" Sterling roared. "We checked the security footage timestamp! Your wife was standing in pool of dirty water three days after giving birth! You lied to us about her being in the hospital! Vanguard Capital is pulling our sixty-million-dollar investment fund effective immediately!"
"No! Please!" Daniel fell to his knees, begging desperately as Sterling turned on his heel and walked out, leaving Hale Capital's reputation in absolute ruins.
