Chapter 5 - Desperate Beasts
At 6:00 AM the following morning, the sun rose over a chaotic Providence, Rhode Island.
Richard Bennett sat in the back of his parked Mercedes outside the glass skyscraper that housed the corporate headquarters of Bennett Global. He looked like a shadow of his former self. His tuxedo was rumpled, his hair unkempt, and dark purple circles bruised the skin beneath his eyes.
His phone had been ringing nonstop for ten hours.
Forty-seven missed calls from board members. Thirty-two from corporate attorneys. HUNDREDS from news reporters, tabloids, and financial analysts.
"Mr. Bennett," his frantic driver nervous said from the front seat. "The main lobby is swarming with news crews. The board members are already arriving through the underground garage."
"Shut up, Gary!" Richard barked, his voice hoarse and desperate. "Just... give me a minute!"
Richard’s hands shook violently as he tried to type a text message to Chloe:
Chloe, please. I know you're angry. I made a mistake with Valerie. I was confused. She manipulated me! Please call off your legal team before the board meeting. We are family. Don't destroy your father.
He hit send.
A second later, a red exclamation mark popped up: MESSAGE NOT DELIVERED. YOU HAVE BEEN BLOCKED BY THIS RECIPIENT.
"Damn it!" Richard roared, slamming his phone against the leather seat.
Suddenly, a silver Bentley pulled up to the private VIP entrance of the building.
The rear door opened, and Alexander Mercer stepped out. But he didn't enter alone. He turned and extended a hand into the vehicle.
Stepping out of the car, dressed in a breathtaking, sharp charcoal-grey double-breasted suit, with her dark hair swept back in a sleek ponytail and her chin held high, was Chloe.
Behind her stepped two senior federal prosecutors and three forensic accountants carrying black leather briefcases.
Richard gasped, scrambling out of his Mercedes, shoving past his driver.
"Chloe! Chloe, wait!" Richard yelled, rushing toward the glass doors.
Security guards hired by Mercer Capital immediately stepped into his path, forming a human wall between Richard and his daughter.
"Chloe! Talk to me!" Richard pleaded through the glass doors, his voice pathetic and desperate. "I'm your father! You can't do this to me! I gave you everything! I raised you!"
Chloe paused near the golden turnstiles of the lobby. She turned slowly, looking through the clear glass at the man who had watched her get slapped and told her she was leftover baggage.
She didn't show anger. She didn't show triumph. She simply stared at him with cold, absolute indifference—as if looking at a stranger standing in the rain.
She turned back around and walked toward the private executive elevators, her heels clicking rhythmically against the polished marble floor.
"Chloe!" Richard screamed, pounding his fist against the reinforced glass. "CHLOE!"
"Mr. Bennett," a stern voice spoke behind him.
Richard turned to see two officers from the Rhode Island State Police standing behind him, accompanied by a process server holding a thick stack of legal papers.
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"Richard Bennett?" the process server asked. "You're formally served with a temporary restraining order, an emergency asset freeze issued by the Superior Court, and a corporate summons."
Richard took the papers, his knees giving out. He collapsed onto the cold concrete steps of his own corporate headquarters as the sirens of approaching news vans began to wail in the distance.
