Chapter 5 - THE SQUEEZE
The fallout from the boardroom coup was immediate and catastrophic for Seraphina and Vivienne. By noon, news outlets across the country were broadcasting the sensational headline: “Mystery Billionaire Leonard Vanguard Unmasked: Salvages Vale Enterprises, Crushes Corrupt Stepmother.”
The stock of Vale Enterprises, which had begun to plummet under the rumor of default, skyrocketed to record highs the moment the market realized the Vanguard Group was backing it. But while the company thrived, Seraphina’s personal life began to implode.
Because Leo hadn't just seized the company. He had begun the financial liquidation of her entire life.
I sat in my father's old office, which had been completely restored to its original state, the modern, garish decorations Seraphina had installed thrown into the dumpster. I was reviewing the company's internal audit alongside Marcus when the door burst open.
Seraphina walked in, flanked by two frantic-looking lawyers. She no longer looked like the elegant queen of high society. Her hair was slightly unkempt, her expensive makeup streaked with stress.
“Clara! We need to talk!” she demanded, slamming her designer purse onto my desk. “Your husband has frozen my personal checking accounts! I tried to pay the staff at Blackthorn Manor this morning, and the transaction was flagged as fraudulent! My credit cards are declined! This is illegal!”
I didn't stand up. I slowly closed the file I was reading, leaned back in my father’s leather chair, and looked at her.
“It’s entirely legal, Seraphina,” I said calmly. “Vanguard’s forensic accounting team spent the last twelve hours reviewing your personal expenditures. It turns out you’ve been funneling millions of dollars from my father's corporate charity foundation into an offshore account in the Cayman Islands for the past two years. That constitutes grand larceny and corporate embezzlement. The banks froze your accounts because they are legally obligated to protect the assets during an active criminal investigation.”
Seraphina’s lead lawyer stepped forward, sweating through his collar. “Mrs. Vanguard, my client is willing to negotiate. If you lift the financial freeze, she is willing to grant you partial access to Blackthorn Manor and allow you to retrieve your father's personal belongings.”
I let out a soft, sharp laugh. “Partial access? To my own home?”
Before the lawyer could reply, the door opened and Leo walked in. He was wearing his gray work jumpsuit again, the sleeves rolled up to reveal his muscular, tattooed forearms, a faint smudge of grease on his jawline. He had just come from his auto shop, but the aura of absolute power around him hadn't diminished a single bit.
“The negotiation period is over,” Leo said, walking over to stand beside my chair. He placed a heavy stack of papers on the desk. “This is a formal eviction notice for Blackthorn Manor. You and your daughter have exactly forty-eight hours to pack your clothes and vacate the property.”
“Eviction?” Seraphina shrieked, her voice cracking into a high-pitched wail. “That estate was left to me in Arthur’s will! You can’t evict me from my own property!”
“The will is currently being contested in federal court under suspicion of forgery and undue influence,” Leo replied smoothly. “And since the estate’s holding company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vale Enterprises—which I now control—I am exercising my right as the primary stakeholder to clear the property of unauthorized occupants. If you are not gone by Thursday morning, the city sheriff will remove you by force.”
Seraphina stared at Leo, her eyes wide with a mixture of hatred and absolute panic. She realized, for the very first time, that her wealth, her beauty, and her social manipulation meant absolutely nothing against the raw, uncompromising power of the man standing before her.
“You think you’ve won, Clara?” Seraphina hissed, turning her venomous gaze to me. “You think this little mechanic boy can protect you forever? Without that money, he’s nothing! You’re both nothing!”
“The difference between us, Seraphina,” I said, looking her dead in the eye, “is that if Leo lost every single dollar tomorrow, I would still be standing right beside him under the hood of a car. But the moment your money vanishes... you’ll find out that no one in this world actually knows your name.”
Without another word, Seraphina spun around and stormed out of the office, her lawyers scrambling to keep up with her frantic pace.
May you like
Leo looked down at me, a soft smile breaking through his serious expression. He reached down, using a clean cloth from his pocket to gently wipe a speck of dust from my cheek. “Did I do okay, boss?”
I smiled, pulling his head down to kiss him sweet and deep. “You did perfect, garage boy. Absolutely perfect.”
