Chapter 7 - Public Execution
Luca didn't touch Vanessa. He simply looked down at her with cold, ancient eyes.
She froze, terrified, falling backward onto the marble floor.
"Going somewhere, Miss Crowe?" Luca asked.
Behind him, two uniformed detectives from the Manhattan Special Victims and Financial Crimes units walked in.
"Vanessa Crowe," the lead detective stated, pulling out a set of steel handcuffs. "You are under arrest for corporate espionage, wire fraud, and felony aggravated assault."
"Assault?!" Vanessa shrieked. "I didn't assault anyone!"
Luca stepped into the room. He took a remote from his pocket and pressed a button.
The television screen shifted.
The recording from my watch played. The entire world was currently watching it.
"While you were sleeping," Luca said, his voice ringing through the chaos, "Leo distributed this footage to every major news outlet, every social media platform, and every member of the Vale Club. Over forty million views in two hours."
Adrian stopped beating his brother. He slowly stood up, covered in sweat, blood trickling from Marcus’s nose.
He stared at the television screen.
The footage of me hanging from the ceiling beam. Adrian holding the crop. Vanessa striking me. Eleanor laughing. Marcus recording.
"No..." Adrian choked out. "No, no, no..."
"The board of directors of Vale Holdings convened an emergency session twenty minutes ago," Luca continued mercilessly. "They voted unanimously to strip you of the CEO title and board chairmanship. They are cooperating with the District Attorney to file first-degree unlawful imprisonment, torture, and assault charges against you, Adrian."
Eleanor collapsed into a chair, gasping for air. "Our name... our society standing..."
May you like
"Your society standing is gone, Eleanor," I said, rising from my seat. "You are pariahs. Every charity you chair has scrubbed your name from their websites. Every country club has revoked your membership. The Vale name is synonymous with sadism, bankruptcy, and filth."
---
