Chapter 4 - The Boardroom Execution
By 9:00 a.m. the following Friday, the corporate offices of Ashford & Associates on Michigan Avenue were experiencing a silent, terrifying invasion.
Grant Ashford sat behind his massive glass desk, a cup of untouched espresso cooling in front of him, his eyes bloodshot from a night spent pacing his empty house in Lake Forest. He had tried to call the police chief four times; each time, the secretary told him the chief was in an indefinite meeting. He had tried to call his bank to check his personal lines; the automated system indicated his accounts were undergoing a routine federal compliance audit.
The heavy glass doors of his office swung open without a knock.
Dominic Vale walked in, followed by two men in tailored gray suits carrying leather briefcases. They weren't street enforcers; they were corporate lawyers from the top maritime firm in the Great Lakes district.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Grant slammed his hands onto the desk, rising to his full height, though his voice lacked the confidence it had possessed on the country club patio. "You have no legal right to be in this building! I am calling building security!"
"Building security belongs to Vale Logistics as of 6:00 a.m. this morning, Grant," Dominic said smoothly, sitting down in the leather armchair opposite the desk without being asked. He crossed one long leg over the other, his tailored trousers showing the flawless crease of an expensive suit. "Your landlord, Mr. Henderson, owed my shipping firm three million dollars in back-dockage fees at the southern port. He settled the debt by transferring the commercial deeds of this entire block to my real estate holding company."
Grant’s breath caught in his throat. "You... you bought my building?"
"I bought your building, I bought your outstanding commercial loans from the Illinois Trust, and by noon today, my legal team will present the state licensing board with a complete record of your firm's structural irregularities on the Riverview Hospital project," Dominic said, leaning forward, his gray eyes turning into twin blocks of ice.
"The Riverview project was approved by the state inspectors!" Grant gasped, the sweat breaking out along his hairline.
"The state inspectors were paid fifty thousand dollars each through a shell company registered to your cousin in Indiana, Grant," Dominic said, tapping his finger against the glass desk with a slow, rhythmic click that sounded exactly like a ticking clock. "I don't just control the streets, Grant. I control the paper. By tomorrow morning, your architectural license will be suspended pending a criminal inquiry. Your contracts will be canceled. Your reputation will be a smoking crater."
Grant collapsed back into his chair, his hands trembling violently. "This is about her. This is about Anna. You’re destroying my life over a common housewife!"
May you like
Dominic rose from his chair, his presence instantly engulfing the wide office. He walked over to the desk, leaning his large palms against the glass until his face was inches from the architect's.
"She isn't a housewife, Grant. She’s the woman who survived you," Dominic whispered, his voice vibrating with a lethal, controlled violence. "I am going to strip you of every title, every dollar, and every friend you have in this state. You will live in that empty house in Lake Forest until the bank forecloses on it, and if I see you within five miles of her sister's house, or her mother's house... Marcus won't be the one who comes for you. I will."
