Chapter 5 - The Corporate War Room
At 10:00 AM, a black town car arrived at my estate to pick up Cedric and take him to his private academy downtown. I had personally briefed his school director three days earlier—Landen’s name had already been removed from the authorized pickup list, backed by a temporary emergency custody order signed by a family court judge.
Once Cedric was safely on his way, I dressed in a tailored navy pantsuit, grabbed my leather briefcase, and had Arthur drive me straight to the glass-and-steel tower of Bradley Commerce Creative in downtown Richmond.
When our car pulled up to the curb, two news vans were already parked outside.
Landen was standing in the marble lobby, shouting at two heavy-set security guards who blocked the glass turnstiles. He looked disheveled, his white shirt wrinkled, his hair messy, and his tie completely gone.
“I am the CEO of this company!” Landen was yelling, his voice echoing off the high glass walls of the atrium. “Call the police! This is an illegal lockout!”
The front doors slid open, and I stepped into the lobby alongside Arthur Vance and two corporate security officers.
The lobby went completely quiet.
Landen spun around, his eyes wild and bloodshot. “Elisa! Tell these idiots who I am! Tell them to let me up to my office!”
I walked up to the turnstile, pulled my new executive keycard from my suit pocket, and tapped it against the electronic scanner. The glass gate swung open with a soft, green beep.
I turned and looked at Landen through the glass barrier.
“You were the CEO, Landen,” I said, my voice smooth and loud enough for the lobby staff and reporters to hear clearly. “Until yesterday, when Bradley Commerce Creative went into technical default on its $4.1 million primary debt obligations. Aegis Healthcare Acquisitions—and its holding subsidiary EHB—exercised its contractual right to assume 100% equity ownership.”
“You hijacked my life!” Landen screamed, slamming his hands against the glass partition. “I built this firm! I spent eight years building these client relationships!”
“You built a house of cards, Landen,” I replied coldly. “You took out three secondary high-interest merchant cash advances without board approval. You falsified quarterly revenue reports to secure bank loans. And you used corporate accounts to fund your mistress’s luxury lifestyle.”
A reporter from the Richmond Business Journal immediately stepped forward, raising a microphone. “Mrs. Bradley! Are you alleging corporate financial fraud against Mr. Bradley?”
“The forensic audit is currently underway,” I said, looking directly into the news camera. “A full criminal referral will be submitted to the Commonwealth’s Attorney by the end of the week.”
Landen’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
The reality of his situation was finally crashing down on him like a tidal wave. This wasn't just a bitter divorce. This was a complete, systematic destruction of his professional, legal, and financial existence.
“Take him out of the building,” I told the chief security officer.
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The guards grabbed Landen by his arms and escorted him out of the marble lobby, pushing him out into the rain that had just begun to fall over downtown Richmond.
I turned on my heel and took the private elevator up to the ninth floor.
