Chapter 2 - The Ground Floor Collapse
The lobby was bustling.
Business as usual.
Dominic’s people at the desk.
They looked up, annoyed.
Then they saw my face.
Their grins vanished.
I walked toward the elevators.
A guard tried to block me.
I held up my pass.
It glowed green.
“Move,” I commanded.
He stumbled back.
I pushed the lobby button.
The lobby floor shook.
Literally.
I walked into the center.
I took the microphone.
The building went silent.
“Attention, Crestwood,” I said.
My voice echoed high.
“Changes are happening now.”
“Security is at the doors.”
“No one leaves.”
“No one enters.”
“Not without an audit.”
Dominic walked in.
He saw the guards.
He saw the crowd.
He saw me.
His face turned red.
“What is this?” he shouted.
“Audrey, stop this!”
He ran toward the stage.
Security stopped him.
Hard.
He hit the floor.
“My access!” he yelled.
“My office!”
“I am the VP!”
I looked down at him.
I didn't blink.
“Not anymore,” I said.
“You’re a trespasser.”
“You are a fraud.”
Natalie stood near him.
She started to cry.
No one cared.
They watched in awe.
“Get him out,” I ordered.
Security dragged him up.
His suit was torn.
His pride was gone.
He looked at the crowd.
Searching for support.
No one moved.
They were afraid.
Afraid of the truth.
“You can’t do this!”
He screamed at me.
“I built this!”
“You built a lie,” I said.
The doors opened wide.
Police officers walked in.
They walked to Dominic.
They held out the cuffs.
The lobby gasped.
Dominic went limp.
“What is this for?”
“Fraud,” I said.
“Tax evasion.”
“Embezzlement.”
He looked at the police.
Then back at me.
His eyes were hollow.
The smug smile was dead.
He was just a man.
Broken by his own greed.
They led him out.
His legs dragged.
Natalie followed, weeping.
I stood there alone.
The center of the storm.
My father walked in.
He stood by my side.
He gave a slight nod.
“Well done.”
I looked at the room.
The employees were shocked.
Some looked relieved.
Others looked scared.
I walked to the podium.
“Back to work,” I said.
“But first, a new start.”
“Everything changes today.”
“We are clean now.”
“We are honest.”
“Any questions?”
Complete silence.
I walked to the desk.
I sat in my chair.
The real chair.
The one I had earned.
It felt right.
It felt powerful.
My father watched me.
“Ready for the meeting?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Let’s clear the board.”
We climbed the stairs.
The office felt empty.
Of lies, at least.
Dominic’s office was open.
It was stripped bare.
Everything was gone.
The Vance legacy erased.
In just an hour.
It was efficient.
It was brutal.
It was necessary.
I sat at the table.
The board members looked.
They saw a woman.
They saw a leader.
They saw the truth.
I opened the folder.
“Let’s begin,” I said.
The work was long.
The work was deep.
But it was ours.
And it was real.
Dominic was in jail.
His mother was next.
The house was clean.
I had never felt lighter.
The city outside moved.
The empire was standing.
May you like
And the queen was back.
Ready for anything.
