Chapter 7 - The Confrontation at the Office
The next day, I returned to my office at Vanguard Capital, where I served as the Managing Director of Private Wealth. I needed to maintain my professional routine, but I also knew that Daniel would try to corner me where I couldn't easily avoid him.
I was in the middle of a team meeting when my assistant, Sarah, knocked on the glass door of the conference room. Her face was pale.
"Emily, I'm sorry to interrupt," Sarah whispered. "But your husband is in the lobby. He’s... he’s making a scene. Security is trying to calm him down, but he’s demanding to see you."
"Excuse me, team," I said to my colleagues, keeping my voice perfectly calm. "Let’s take a ten-minute break."
I walked out to the reception area. Daniel was standing near the security desk, his hair disheveled, his eyes bloodshot, and his suit wrinkled. He looked like a man who hadn't slept in forty-eight hours. When he saw me, he lunged forward, but two beefy security guards immediately stepped in front of him.
"Emily!" he shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. "You have to stop this! Arthur Vance called my firm. They’re launching an internal investigation into my finances because of the fraud allegations! They’ve suspended me, Emily! I’m going to lose my job!"
"You should have thought about that before you committed fraud, Daniel," I said, standing twenty feet away, my arms crossed.
"It wasn't fraud!" he screamed, attracting the attention of several executives who were walking through the lobby. "I did it for us! I did it so we wouldn't have to deal with your parents anymore! They’re a drain on our lives, Emily! You know it! You’re just too proud to admit it!"
"My parents," I said, my voice carrying clearly across the silent lobby, "are the most decent, hardworking people I have ever known. They lived in an unheated greenhouse of an abandoned market because of your greed. You are a thief, Daniel. You stole their peace, you stole their home, and you tried to steal their dignity."
"Emily, please," he pleaded, dropping to his knees, tears finally spilling down his cheeks. It was a pathetic, desperate attempt to manipulate me in public. "I love you. I made a mistake. I'll make Chloe leave. I'll apologize to your parents. Just tell Arthur to drop the charges. Please. My career will be over."
"Your career is already over, Daniel," I said.
At that moment, two NYPD officers entered the lobby. I had called them the moment Sarah told me he was here, using the temporary restraining order Arthur had secured just an hour prior.
"Daniel Vance?" the lead officer asked, stepping forward. "You are in violation of a temporary order of protection. Hands behind your back, sir."
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"No! Emily, please! Don't do this!" Daniel screamed as the handcuffs clicked into place around his wrists. He was dragged out of the lobby, crying and begging, while my colleagues watched in stunned silence.
I turned to my assistant. "Sarah, let’s get back to the meeting."
