Chapter 4 - Shadows of the Past
Two weeks later, downtown Manhattan pulsed with its usual relentless energy.
Inside a sleek, high-security holding facility on the outskirts of the city, the atmosphere was a stark contrast to the sunlit luxury of the Harlow estate.
Daniel Vance sat on a metal bunk in a stark, gray holding cell, staring blankly at the chipped concrete floor. His expensive tailored suit was gone, replaced by a standard orange jumpsuit that hung loosely on his frame. The sleek, arrogant regional president who had once commanded skyscrapers and dismissed single mothers was entirely dead.
The heavy steel door clanked open.
A guard stepped aside, and Marcus Vance—Daniel’s former legal counsel who had managed to cut a plea deal by turning state’s evidence against the inner circle—stepped into the visiting booth.
Daniel didn't even look up. "Did you fix it?" he muttered, his voice hollow and raspy. "Can we appeal the asset freeze? The trust has to have a loophole—"
"There are no loopholes, Daniel," Marcus said grimly, pulling up a metal chair on the other side of the reinforced glass. "Harlow Industries' legal team locked down every single account before the market opened this morning. You’ve been permanently blacklisted from the corporate sector. Not a single firm in the Fortune 500 will touch your resume with a ten-foot pole."
Daniel let out a dry, hysterical laugh, burying his face in his hands. "She ruined me. She and her father destroyed everything I spent a decade building in five minutes."
"You destroyed yourself the moment you handed an emerald necklace to your mistress that belonged to a woman whose father owns half the eastern seaboard," Marcus corrected bluntly. "By the way, Vanessa cut a deal an hour ago. She’s testifying that you masterminded the embezzlement scheme from day one."
Daniel snapped his head up, his eyes bloodshot and wide with fury. "She what? That treacherous little—"
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"Save your energy, Daniel," Marcus interrupted, standing up and straightening his jacket. "Your arraignment is tomorrow morning. You're looking at a minimum of fifteen years in federal custody. Welcome to the bottom of the ladder."
With that, Marcus turned and walked out of the cell, leaving Daniel alone in the echoing silence of his own making.
