Chapter 3 - The Retaliation of the DeLucas
By Wednesday morning, the reality of what Liam had set in motion began to manifest with brutal corporate and legal force.
Liam sat at the kitchen island with a cup of black coffee, reviewing emails while Noah and Emma watched cartoons in the living room, eating bowls of cereal. The house felt lighter, cleaner, and devoid of the cold, artificial perfection Vanessa had imposed upon it.
Then, his cell phone rang on the counter.
The caller ID displayed an unfamiliar, restricted corporate number.
Liam swiped to answer and pressed the phone to his ear. “Liam Vance speaking.”
“Mr. Vance, this is Arthur Sterling, senior managing partner at Sterling & Croft Legal Counsel,” a sharp, aggressive voice announced through the speaker. “I am calling on behalf of Donald DeLuca—your wife’s father.”
Liam didn't flinch. He took a slow sip of his coffee. “I figured it wouldn't take him long to find out. Tell Donald he can save his breath and his legal fees. If he wants to contest the eviction or file for divorce settlement on Vanessa’s terms, he can review the flash drive of kitchen surveillance footage currently sitting on Detective Miller’s desk at the local precinct.”
There was a brief, tense pause on the other end of the line.
“Mr. DeLuca is well aware of your little digital recordings,” Arthur Sterling replied smoothly, though there was a razor-sharp edge to his tone. “However, Donald wants you to understand the ecosystem you are playing in. DeLuca Enterprises holds the primary commercial contracts for every structural supply chain in your architectural firm. Within forty-eight hours, every major supplier you rely on can mysteriously find themselves ‘unavailable’ for your projects. Your bank loans can be called in. Your business can be starved out of existence before the week is out.”
Liam’s fingers tightened around his coffee mug until his knuckles turned white. Donald DeLuca was a ruthless old-school real estate tycoon who treated human beings like disposable commodities. He had built his fortune on intimidation and financial leverage.
“Is that a threat, Counselor?” Liam asked, his voice dropping into a dangerous, icy register.
“It’s a business reality,” Sterling answered coldly. “Drop the domestic abuse claims, issue a public statement apologizing for your erratic behavior, allow Mrs. DeLuca back into the residence with a suitable financial settlement, and perhaps Donald will be merciful enough to let you keep your architectural license. You have until tomorrow morning to decide.”
BEEP.
The line went dead.
Liam lowered the phone slowly, staring down at the kitchen counter. The threat was real. If DeLuca cut off his supply chains and triggered his commercial debt covenants, his firm—which he had spent twelve years building from scratch—would collapse in bankruptcy within a month.
He was standing at a crossroads. He could protect his business and bow down to monsters like the DeLucas, or he could protect his children and fight a war against an empire with unlimited resources.
For Liam Vance, there was never actually a choice.
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He picked up his phone again, bypassed his normal contacts, and dialed a private number he hadn't used in five years—the direct line of Marcus Vance, his estranged older brother who operated a high-level private intelligence and corporate investigation firm in downtown Chicago.
“Marcus,” Liam said the moment the line connected. “I need a favor. And by favor, I mean I need to dismantle a corrupt real estate cartel.”
