Chapter 3 - The Anatomy of Greed
Across town, in the gilded drawing room of the Harrison ancestral manor, crystal tumblers clinked with thirty-year-old scotch. Marcus Harrison stood beside the marble hearth, his chest puffed with unearned pride as he raised his glass toward his parents.
"To trimming the dead weight," Marcus announced, flashing his polished smile.
Victoria Harrison adjusted the pearl necklace resting against her collarbone, a look of profound satisfaction settling into her sculpted features. "She was an eyesore, darling. An absolute charity case. I knew from the day you dragged her out of that rundown community center that she lacked the pedigree for high society. Imagine if someone discovered our daughter-in-law lived on state stipends before she met you."
Ashley Summers sat nestled on the velvet sofa, her manicured fingers resting conspicuously on her protruding belly. "She actually thought she could hold onto you, Marcus. Did you see her eyes when she signed? She looked like a drowned rat. I almost felt bad for her."
"Don't," Richard Harrison rumbled from behind his mahogany desk. The retired federal judge exhaled a plume of blue cigar smoke, his posture oozing bureaucratic power. "Weak creatures exist to be trampled by the strong. Her so-called career is finished. I called the dean at the college; her contract was terminated before she even stood up. The bank will hold her meager savings indefinitely under suspicion of wire fraud. She won't have enough money to buy bus fare, let alone hire an attorney capable of challenging our prenuptial terms."
"Good," Marcus said, taking a heavy swallow of liquor. "The optics matter now more than ever. The board of Harrison Logistics needs to see stability before the buyout."
For months, the Harrison family had teetered on the edge of insolvency. Marcus had overleveraged the company's maritime shipping fleets on speculative cryptocurrency bonds, plunging their seventy-year-old family empire into over four hundred million dollars of unserviceable debt. Their only salvation lay in an impending recapitalization agreement with Sovereign Holdings—a global private equity titan that had expressed interest in absorbing their logistical infrastructure.
"Have you spoken with their liaison?" Victoria asked, leaning forward with sudden anxiety. "Everything hinges on Sovereign signing that deal next week."
"Their vice chairman, Julian Vance, confirmed they are reviewing the final term sheets," Marcus replied smoothly. "They want modern supply-chain networks. With Ashley by my side—a woman from an actual banking dynasty—we project the image of generational wealth and competence. Sovereign won't hesitate."
Ashley purred, leaning into Marcus's arm. "We deserve this, Marcus. We’re building a true dynasty. Not with a broken orphan, but with someone who understands real power."
May you like
Marcus kissed her forehead, completely intoxicated by his own delusion. He had convinced himself that discarding his wife was simply good business, a routine pruning of a dying branch. He had no suspicion that the ground beneath his feet was already soaked in kerosene, and the woman holding the match was someone he had just ordered to kneel in shattered glass.
***
