Chapter 7 - The Downfall
By 8:00 AM the following morning, the world had completely transformed for the Croft family.
In the penthouse suite of the Croft Tower on Park Avenue, Richard Croft sat behind his massive mahogany desk, staring at three television monitors all playing the morning financial news.
“Croft Real Estate Group Shares Down 42% in Early Trading.”
“District Attorney Opens Formal Investigation into Vanessa Croft for Felony Child Abuse and Assault.”
“Major Retail Tenants Pull Out of Croft Shopping Malls Following Public Outrage.”
The heavy oak doors of Richard’s office burst open.
Vanessa stumbled into the room, her hair messy, wearing the same crumpled clothes from the night before, her eyes swollen from crying.
“Dad!” she shrieked, throwing her designer bag onto the couch. “You have to stop them! The police are outside my apartment! Reporters are following me everywhere! Tell Adrian to take the video down!”
Richard slowly turned his head to look at his daughter. The anger that usually burned in his eyes was gone, replaced by a cold, dead exhaustion.
“Take it down?” Richard said, his voice flat and rasping. “Vanessa... the video has been viewed eighty million times across the globe. It is the top trending topic in North America, Europe, and Asia.”
“I don't care about the news!” Vanessa screamed, banging her fists on his desk. “Fix it! You’re Richard Croft! You buy people!”
“I can't buy anyone anymore, Vanessa,” Richard said quietly, dropping a stack of legal papers onto the desk. “Every bank in New York has frozen our credit lines. Adrian Sterling bought sixty percent of our debt holding company at midnight. He owns our mortgages. He owns this building. He owns my house.”
Vanessa froze, her breath catching in her throat. “What... what does that mean?”
Before Richard could answer, four uniformed NYPD officers and two detectives stepped through the open office door.
The lead detective stepped forward, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt.
“Vanessa Croft?” the detective asked sternly.
Vanessa backed away, her hands shaking frantically. “No! Get away from me! Dad, tell them!”
“You are under arrest for felony assault, reckless endangerment of a minor, and child abuse,” the detective stated, grabbing her arm smoothly and twisting it behind her back.
CLICK.
The iron cuff locked around her wrist.
“Dad! DAD! HELP ME!” Vanessa shrieked as she was forced onto her knees, the cold metal biting into her skin.
Richard Croft didn't move. He sat in his leather chair, staring out the window at the Manhattan skyline, watching his life’s work crumble into dust because of his daughter’s cruel, envious heart.
As Vanessa was dragged out of the skyscraper in handcuffs, surrounded by fifty press cameras flashing wildly in her face, she caught sight of a black Escalade parked across the street.
The tinted rear window rolled down two inches.
Adrian Sterling sat inside the leather interior, holding a hot cup of coffee, looking at her through dark sunglasses.
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He didn't smile. He didn't gloat. He simply watched her get shoved into the back of a police cruiser, closing the window as the vehicle pulled away into the morning traffic.
The storm had passed. Justice had arrived.
