Chapter 3 - The Fall of the Patriarch
The air inside the Lawson mansion in Phoenix was suffocating,
heavy with the scent of old wood,
blooming lilies,
and ruin.
Christopher stood in the center of the grand living room,
his hands clutched tightly into fists,
his knuckles white,
his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Michelle.
She was sitting on the edge of the velvet couch,
clutching the two infants to her chest like a shield,
tears streaming down her face,
ruining her expensive makeup.
"Is it true?"
Christopher roared,
his voice echoing off the high ceilings,
shattering the quiet dignity of the house.
"Answer me,
Michelle!
Is it true?!"
"Christopher,
please!"
Michelle sobbed,
her body shaking uncontrollably.
"Listen to me!
It’s not what you think!
I loved you!
I do love you!"
"You loved my money!"
Christopher screamed,
stepping toward her,
his face flushed with a terrifying,
crimson rage.
"You loved the penthouse!
You loved the black credit cards!
You loved the luxury trips!
Whose babies are those,
Michelle?!
Whose blood is in their veins?!"
Evelyn Lawson sat calmly in a high-backed wing chair near the marble fireplace,
holding a porcelain tea cup with steady,
unwavering hands.
She took a quiet sip before speaking,
her voice cutting through Christopher’s wild shouting like a sharp razor.
"Shouting will not change the DNA,
Christopher,"
Evelyn said coldly.
"And screaming at her will not restore the dignity you threw away when you abandoned your legal wife for a gold-digger."
Christopher turned sharply on his mother,
his breathing heavy and erratic.
"You knew!"
he accused,
pointing a trembling finger at her.
"You knew about this!
Why didn't you tell me before I signed the divorce papers with Victoria?!"
Evelyn lowered her teacup onto the saucer with a soft,
delicate clink.
"I asked you two weeks ago to come visit me alone,"
Evelyn reminded him,
her eyes cold and uncompromising.
"I asked you to slow down the divorce proceedings.
I asked you if you were absolutely certain about Michelle's background.
Do you remember what you said to me on the phone,
Christopher?"
Christopher swallowed hard,
a sudden wave of nausea rising in his throat.
"You told me to mind my own business,"
Evelyn answered for him,
her voice dripping with quiet fury.
"You told me that I was an old woman who couldn't handle the fact that you were finally happy.
You told me that Victoria was bitter and jealous,
and that Michelle was the best thing that ever happened to you."
"I was tricked!"
Christopher yelled,
defending himself frantically.
"She tricked me!
Dominic set this up!"
"You were not tricked,"
Evelyn corrected sharply,
standing up from her chair and walking over to stand directly in front of him.
"You were arrogant.
You wanted so badly to feel like a powerful man,
a fertile patriarch,
a corporate conqueror,
that you shut your eyes to every red flag.
You insulted Victoria.
You tried to humiliate her publicly.
You took her money,
her credit,
her talent,
and when you thought you didn't need her anymore,
you threw her away like trash."
Evelyn took a step closer,
looking up into her son's eyes with absolute disdain.
"Victoria was the only thing standing between you and utter destruction,
Christopher.
She managed your accounts.
She kept Dominic’s lawyers at bay.
She protected your reputation.
And you traded her for this."
Evelyn gestured dismissively toward Michelle,
who let out a loud,
miserable wail.
"What am I supposed to do now?!"
Christopher panicked,
pacing back and forth across the room,
his hands pulling at his hair.
"The press...
the board...
if the board finds out about this scandal,
the stock price will plummet!
I have to call Victoria.
She can fix this.
She always fixes the legal strategy!"
He snatched his phone from his pocket with shaking hands and dialed my number.
He held the phone to his ear,
listening to the silent ring.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Your call has been forwarded to an automated voice messaging system...
"No,
no,
no!"
he muttered frantically,
redialing instantly.
Your call has been forwarded...
He tried sending a text message,
his thumbs flying across the screen,
begging me to pick up,
promising to fix everything,
admitting his mistakes.
A red exclamation mark immediately appeared beside the message: Not Delivered.
"She blocked me..."
Christopher whispered,
his phone slipping slightly in his sweaty palm.
"She blocked my number..."
"Of course she blocked you,"
Evelyn said,
walking over to her mahogany desk and opening her laptop.
"Victoria is not a fool.
She is currently holding an emergency board meeting with the principal investors of Vextor Dynamics."
Christopher’s head snapped up,
his eyes wide with sheer terror.
"What?!
What meeting?!
I am the CEO!
I didn't authorize a board meeting!"
"You don't own enough shares to authorize or block a meeting anymore,
Christopher,"
Evelyn revealed,
turning the laptop screen toward him.
On the screen was a live feed of Vextor Dynamics’ investor portal.
A press release had just been published minutes ago.
BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT: EXECUTIVES RESTRUCTURE AT VEXTOR DYNAMICS. VICTORIA LAWSON APPOINTED INTERIM CEO FOLLOWING DISCLOSURE OF CORPORATE MISCONDUCT AND ASSET MISAPPROPRIATION.
Christopher fell to his knees as if he had been struck by an invisible sledgehammer.
The floor beneath him seemed to give way.
"No...
no,
this isn't real...
this can't be happening..."
"It is happening,"
Evelyn said,
her voice completely devoid of pity.
"Victoria submitted the full forensic financial audit to the board two hours ago.
They found that you used over four million dollars of company funds to finance Michelle’s accounts in Tucson and purchase real estate under her name.
That is embezzlement,
Christopher."
"I was going to pay it back!"
Christopher cried out,
tears of rage and panic spilling down his cheeks.
"I was going to replace the funds after the launch of our new software!"
"With what money?"
Evelyn asked coldly.
"The bank called me five minutes before you arrived.
They have placed an immediate freeze on all your personal accounts pending a criminal investigation into fraud.
You have no money.
You have no authority.
You have no company."
Michelle,
hearing that Christopher was completely ruined,
suddenly stopped crying.
Her tone shifted instantly,
her eyes narrowing as she looked at Christopher kneeling pathetically on the rug.
"Wait..."
Michelle said,
her voice cold and calculating.
"What do you mean he has no money?
What about the penthouse in La Jolla?
What about my trust fund?"
Evelyn looked at Michelle with a terrifying,
ice-cold smile.
"The penthouse in La Jolla was purchased with embezzled corporate funds from Vextor Dynamics,"
Evelyn explained smoothly.
"As of twenty minutes ago,
Victoria had a receiver placed on the property.
Federal marshals will be locking the doors tomorrow morning at nine o'clock.
Your personal items will be placed in storage until the court determines what was bought with stolen money."
Michelle gasped,
her jaw dropping in horror.
"And the trust fund?"
"Dominic’s trust fund?"
Evelyn chuckled softly,
a terrifying,
dark sound.
"Do you really think Dominic Lawson was going to give you millions of dollars,
girl?
Dominic used you as a weapon against my son.
Now that the weapon has been exposed and neutralized by Victoria,
do you honestly think Dominic cares what happens to you or those infants?"
At that exact moment,
Michelle’s phone lit up on the couch.
It was a notification from her bank app.
She snatched the phone up,
her fingers wildly opening the alert.
Notice of Account Revocation: The corporate trust account ending in 4092 managed by Vance Holdings has been terminated by the grantor.
"He canceled it..."
Michelle whispered,
her face turning grey.
"Dominic closed the account...
I don't have a cent..."
She looked down at the two babies in her arms,
then at Christopher,
who was weeping hysterically on the floor,
his life,
reputation,
and fortune reduced to ash in a matter of hours.
"Get out,"
Evelyn said,
her voice quiet,
firm,
and absolute.
Michelle looked up,
startled.
"What?"
"Get out of my house,"
Evelyn ordered,
pointing toward the heavy mahogany front doors.
"Take your illegitimate children and leave my estate immediately."
"Evelyn,
please!"
Michelle pleaded,
scrambling to her feet.
"I have nowhere to go!
My apartment is locked!
My accounts are frozen!
These are newborns!"
"You should have thought about that before you entered into a conspiracy to ruin my family,"
Evelyn said without a single shred of warmth.
"If you are not off my property in five minutes,
I will have my security team remove you for criminal trespass."
Michelle looked at Christopher,
hoping for protection,
but Christopher was staring blankly at the rug,
completely broken,
whispering my name over and over again like a frantic prayer to a god that had abandoned him.
Realizing that no help was coming,
Michelle grabbed the baby carriers in a frenzy,
heaved them into her arms,
and ran out of the house into the scorching Arizona heat,
May you like
screaming in frustration as the heavy double doors slammed shut behind her,
locking her out forever.
