Chapter 4 - The Financial BleedThree days later, the fallout hit the headlines of the San Francisco Financial Chronicle.
TECH HEIR UNMASKED: LAWSON INNOVATIONS COLLAPSES UNDER EMBEZZLEMENT PROBE.
The scandal spread through Silicon Valley like wildfire. Within seventy-two hours of Dominic’s firing, every venture capital firm, angel investor, and banking partner that had previously tolerated his arrogance severed ties with him completely. His personal credit cards were maxed out, his luxury apartment lease—guaranteed by corporate accounts—was canceled by the landlord, and his bank accounts were frozen pending civil forfeiture hearings.
Natalie, realizing that her golden goose had not only turned out to be a wooden duck, but was currently sinking into a federal swamp, packed her designer bags and vanished from Dominic’s life before the end of the week, leaving behind a brief text message: Don't call me. You brought this on yourself.
Dominic found himself sitting on a wooden bench in a bleak, fluorescent-lit corridor of the federal courthouse, waiting for his arraignment hearing.
He wore the same rumpled suit he had worn on the day of the divorce, but it now looked like a costume worn by a man who had been thoroughly crushed by reality. His hair was unwashed, his eyes sunken and hollow.
The heavy oak doors of the courtroom opened, and a federal marshal stepped out, calling his name.
“Lawson, Dominic. Courtroom 3B.”
Before Dominic could stand up, a familiar shadow fell across him. He looked up.
It wasn't Audrey. It was her father, Arthur Vance—the reclusive billionaire founder of Vance Global, a man who rarely appeared in public and even more rarely spoke to the press.
Arthur looked down at his former son-in-law with an expression of quiet, absolute disappointment. It was the look one might give a stray dog that had wandered onto the porch and bitten a child—not worthy of hatred, merely removal.
“Arthur...” Dominic whispered, scrambling to his feet, his voice trembling. “Sir... please. You know how hard I worked for the company. I gave them six years of my life! Your daughter is destroying everything we built—!”
“We built?” Arthur interrupted, his voice calm, measured, and terrifyingly cold. “Dominic, when you married my daughter, you were working a mid-level analyst job at a failing logistics firm in Oakland. I gave you an office because Audrey asked me to. I gave you a title because I wanted my daughter to have a supportive partner.”
Arthur leaned in slightly, his sharp eyes locking onto Dominic’s panicked gaze.
“You didn’t build the empire, Dominic. You were a parasite living in the walls. And now, the exterminator has finished the job.”
May you like
“I’ll go to prison,” Dominic choked out, tears of pure humiliation finally spilling over his eyelids. “They’re asking for twelve years. I’ll lose everything.”
“You already lost everything the moment you thought cruelty was a substitute for character,” Arthur replied indifferently. He turned on his heel and walked down the corridor toward the elevators, leaving Dominic standing alone in the sterile hallway as the federal marshal motioned toward the courtroom door.
