Chapter 4 - The Unravelling at the Penthouse
At 2:00 PM, Robert Thorne was frantically pacing the floor of his ninety-million-dollar duplex penthouse on Park Avenue.
His tie was undone, his eyes bloodshot, his phone ringing continuously with calls from panicking board members, creditors, and news reporters standing outside the building entrance.
Standing in the living room with him was Sienna Vale—his twenty-six-year-old vice president of marketing and secret mistress.
"Robert! Do something!" Sienna screamed, waving her phone frantically. "My company credit cards were declined ten minutes ago! My car lease was cancelled!"
"Shut up, Sienna!" Robert barked, slamming his fist against the marble fireplace mantel. "Julian Davenport is shorting my company into oblivion! He’s using his liquidity reserves to buy out our debt holders!"
"Can't you call Jennifer?" Sienna pleaded, grabbing his arm. "Beg her! Tell her you were drunk! Tell her you're sorry! She’s soft, Robert! She loves you!"
Before Robert could answer, the electronic lock on the front door chimed.
The heavy oak doors swung open.
Four uniformed city marshals stepped into the foyer, accompanied by Patricia Wells—the senior divorce attorney for the Davenport family.
"Robert Thorne," Patricia announced, holding a thick stack of certified legal documents in her gloved hand.
"I am serving you with an immediate court-ordered eviction notice for this residence, along with a temporary restraining order issued on behalf of Jennifer Hayes Davenport."
Robert stared at her, his face turning an ashen shade of grey. "Eviction? This penthouse is registered under my corporate holding company!"
"Which was fifty-one percent funded by the Davenport Family Trust, Mr. Thorne," Patricia corrected him with a razor-thin smile.
"As of one hour ago, Davenport Capital executed a foreclosure lien due to non-payment of primary credit lines. You have thirty minutes to collect your personal clothing and vacate the premises."
Sienna shrieked, grabbing her designer handbag. "This is insane! You can't do this!"
May you like
"Actually, Miss Vale," Patricia added, looking directly at her, "federal auditors are currently arriving at Thorne Dynamics headquarters to review thirty-six wire transfers you authorized from the corporate healthcare fund into a private account in the Cayman Islands."
"You might want to call a criminal defense lawyer."
