Chapter 4 - The House of Cards
Harrison froze, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "What did you say?"
Arthur stepped forward, his presence completely dwarfing Harrison’s. "I said, Mr. Caldwell, that I now own the controlling interest in this hospital. And more importantly, I own the debt on your company's latest development, the Caldwell Plaza."
Harrison laughed, a nervous, forced sound. "That’s impossible. That debt is held by the Swiss Creditor Group."
"Which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vance Global Enterprises," Arthur replied, pulling a sleek leather folder from his vest pocket and tossing it onto the bedside table. "I am Arthur Vance, Harrison. Rebecca's uncle."
The silence that followed was absolute.
I watched as the color drained from Harrison’s face, his eyes darting from the folder to me, and then to Arthur. The realization of what he had just done—and who he had just crossed—seemed to hit him like a physical blow.
"Rebecca..." Harrison stammered, stepping toward my bed, his hands shaking. "You... you never told me you had an uncle. You said your family was gone."
"My family was gone, Harrison," I said, my voice cold and steady. "Because you and your sisters spent three years making sure I felt entirely alone. You made me believe that without your money, I was nothing. You let Vivien humiliate me. You let her kick our child."
"It was an accident!" Harrison pleaded, his voice rising in panic. "Vivien was stressed... she didn't mean to... I was going to call the paramedics, I swear!"
"You hesitated, Harrison," I whispered. "I asked you to choose. And you chose her. You chose your stock price. You chose your reputation. Now, you’re going to lose all of it."
"You can't do this!" Harrison shouted, turning to Arthur. "You can't call in the debt on Caldwell Plaza! We are three weeks away from completion! If you call in the loans now, we’ll go into foreclosure! My family will be ruined!"
"Then I suggest you start packing," Arthur said, his voice entirely devoid of mercy. "Because as of ten minutes ago, Vance Global has declared your loan in default due to material breach of the moral turpitude clause in our contract. A public arrest of a major shareholder’s spouse for domestic complicity and corporate assault tends to violate those clauses, you see."
"Arrest?" Harrison gasped.
Right on cue, the door to the suite opened.
Two detectives from the Atlanta Police Department stepped into the room, followed by Dr. Sarah Jenkins, who was holding a digital tablet.
"Harrison Caldwell?" the lead detective asked. "We have a warrant for your arrest for complicity in felony domestic assault and child endangerment. And we have an additional warrant for Vivien Sterling for aggravated assault on a pregnant woman."
"This is a mistake!" Harrison screamed as the detective grabbed his arms, pulling them behind his back. "Rebecca, tell them! Tell them we’re married! We can work this out!"
I turned my head away, looking out the window at the rain.
"I want a divorce, Harrison," I said softly. "And I’m taking custody of our daughter."
May you like
As Harrison was dragged out of the room, his desperate screams echoing down the corridor, Arthur walked over to my side, wrapping a protective arm around my shoulders.
"The first blow has landed, sweetheart," Arthur whispered. "Now, we finish them."
