Chapter 5 - The Lens of Truth
By two o’clock that afternoon, Dominic had reached the end of his rope.
He sat on a concrete park bench three blocks from Vance Tower, his clothes soaked from the relentless drizzle. He had seventeen dollars in cash in his pocket—money he had found crumpled in the lining of his overcoat.
His phone was dead. His mother was currently sitting in the lobby of an upscale hotel down the street, screaming at the manager because her credit cards were declined for a standard room.
There was only one person left.
Paige.
Paige lived in the luxurious riverfront condominium Dominic had secured for her using company funds. She loved him. She had told him hundreds of times that he was the only man who truly understood her, that she didn't care about his money or his family name.
Dragging his feet, Dominic took the public tram across the river and walked up the pristine marble steps of the Waterford Residences.
When he reached the fourth floor, he didn't even use his key. He banged desperately against the heavy walnut door.
“Paige! Paige, open up! It’s me!”
After a long moment, the door clicked open.
Paige stood in the entryway wearing silk pajamas, but her face wasn't soft or welcoming. It was tightly wound, her arms crossed defensively over her chest.
“Dominic? What are you doing here? You’re dripping water all over the floor.”
“Paige, thank God,” Dominic breathed, trying to push past her into the warm, scented apartment. “Audrey went completely insane. She stripped the company, she froze my accounts, she kicked my mother out of the house. I need to crash here for a few days while my lawyers file an injunction.”
Paige didn’t move. Her body blocked the doorframe like a concrete pillar.
“You can’t stay here, Dominic.”
Dominic blinked, wiping rain from his eyes. “What? Paige, what are you talking about? I pay for this place!”
“*You* didn't pay for anything,” Paige said coldly. “The building management came by two hours ago with an eviction notice from Sovereign Crest Holdings. They said the corporate lease was revoked due to illegal subletting. They gave me until tomorrow morning to clear out my things!”
“Then we’ll pack together!” Dominic insisted, reaching for her hands. “We’ll get an apartment across the state line. I still have industry contacts. I can consult. We’ll build back up together!”
Paige let out a bitter, mocking laugh that made Dominic’s blood run cold.
“Build back up? With what, Dominic? You’re broke! You’re facing embezzlement charges! Do you think I spent the last six months listening to you complain about your boring, plain wife because I enjoyed your sparkling personality?”
Dominic felt as if he had been slapped across the face. “Paige… what are you saying? You said you loved me.”
“I loved the black Centurion card, Dominic. I loved the first-class trips to Paris. I loved the idea of becoming Mrs. Vance once you finally divorced that mouse.”
She looked him up and down with visceral disgust. “Look at you. You’re soaked, you’re jobless, you’re infertile, and you’re probably going to prison. What could you possibly offer me?”
“You treacherous whore!” Dominic roared, lunging forward.
Before he could touch her, a heavy hand grabbed him by the collar, shoving him violently backward into the hallway wall.
A tall, broad-shouldered man stepped out from the shadows of Paige’s apartment, fastening the buttons of an expensive Italian silk shirt.
Dominic’s breath caught in his throat.
It was Marcus Kane.
Marcus Kane was the CEO of Kane Dynamics—Dominic’s fiercest corporate rival, the man who had competed with Vance Construction for every major municipal contract for five years.
“Afternoon, Vance,” Marcus said, a cruel, mocking smirk playing on his lips. “You really shouldn't raise your voice at a lady. Especially when she’s carrying precious cargo.”
Dominic’s eyes darted from Marcus to Paige, his mind refusing to process the scene. “Marcus? What the hell are you doing in my apartment?”
“It isn't your apartment anymore,” Marcus laughed. “And neither is Paige. You see, Dominic, while you were playing the big shot with money you stole from your own wife, Paige was keeping me very well informed about your bids, your project cost structures, and your financing covenants.”
Marcus casually wrapped an arm around Paige’s waist, pulling her against his side. Paige leaned into him, smirking at Dominic.
“And unlike you, Dominic,” Paige purred, placing a delicate hand over her lower abdomen, “Marcus doesn't have defective equipment. I’m ten weeks along. With a real man’s heir.”
Dominic stood completely paralyzed.
*Ten weeks.*
Paige had been sleeping with Marcus Kane while Dominic was buying her diamonds and telling her she was his true soulmate. And all the while, she had been leaking Vance Construction’s trade secrets to the very man who drove them toward insolvency.
“Get out of here, Vance,” Marcus said, his tone turning dismissive. “Before I have building security beat you down the stairwell. You’re finished. In this town, you’re an absolute ghost.”
The heavy walnut door slammed shut in Dominic’s face. The deadbolt clicked into place with finality.
Dominic stood alone in the carpeted corridor, trembling so violently he could barely keep his balance. Every single person he had trusted, every person he had chosen over Audrey—his mother, his mistress, his business associates—had turned out to be parasites feeding on a corpse.
He stumbled down the fire stairs, spilling out onto the rain-slicked city sidewalk.
As he reached the street, a black unmarked sedan pulled up to the curb. Two men in dark trench coats stepped out, badges flashing in the dim light of the streetlamps.
“Dominic Vance?” Detective Martinez of the City Police Department stepped into his path.
Dominic looked up, completely drained. “What now? Did the restaurant file charges for the three thousand dollars?”
“This isn't about dinner, Mr. Vance,” Detective Martinez said grimly. “We’ve just executed an arrest warrant at the St. Regis Hotel for your mother, Victoria Vance. She’s currently in custody.”
Dominic’s eyes widened. “Arrested? On what charges?”
“Attempted murder and felony domestic assault resulting in the termination of a pregnancy,” the detective replied, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt.
“You can’t prove that!” Dominic stammered defensively. “It was Audrey’s word against hers! It was an accident!”
Detective Martinez pulled a tablet from inside his coat, tapped the screen, and turned it toward Dominic.
On the screen was crystal-clear, high-definition 4K video footage.
The angle was taken from a discreet, smoke-detector camera nestled in the ceiling of the grand foyer—a camera Dominic never knew existed.
On the screen, Audrey was standing quietly at the top of the landing, holding a folder. Victoria marched up behind her, screaming in her face. When Audrey turned to walk away, Victoria’s face twisted in pure, unbridled malice. She placed both hands firmly against Audrey’s shoulder blades and shoved with everything she had.
The footage showed Audrey plunging downward, her body bouncing violently against the marble edges, until she landed in a twisted, motionless heap at the base of the stairs.
Victoria walked to the top of the landing, looked down at her bleeding daughter-in-law for three cold seconds, spat over the railing, and walked back into her bedroom without calling 911.
The timestamp in the corner read: *Monday, 4:14 PM.*
“Mrs. Montgomery had a private surveillance system installed six months ago to document elder abuse threats,” Detective Martinez said, turning the tablet off. “The grand jury took less than ten minutes to indict your mother.”
The detective stepped forward, grabbing Dominic’s wrists and snapping the cold steel handcuffs around his arms.
“And you, Mr. Vance, are being detained as an accessory after the fact, along with three counts of grand corporate larceny.”
As Dominic was shoved into the back of the police cruiser, his cheek pressed against the cold, wire-reinforced window, he saw a black Maybach glide smoothly past the intersection.
In the backseat of the Maybach, backlit by the soft glow of a tablet, was Audrey.
May you like
She didn't glance at the police car. She didn't look down at the wreckage. She looked straight ahead, toward the horizon, leaving him behind in the dirt where he belonged.
***
