Chapter 3 - The Fractured Empire
Derek’s sleek, minimalist penthouse was dead silent except for the harsh, erratic pacing of his leather shoes across the hardwood floor.
"What do you mean, indefinite suspension?" Derek roared into his cellular phone, his face twisted in rage. "I am a senior partner! I bring in forty percent of the firm’s regional accounts!"
"Not anymore, Derek," the cold, metallic voice of Arthur Vance, the managing partner of Halston & Sterling Consulting, crackled through the speaker. "The board held an emergency conference call twenty minutes ago. Footage of you striking your pregnant wife at the Ashford Grand charity gala is currently trending #1 on every social media platform in North America. Three major institutional clients just pulled their retainers. The firm cannot afford to be associated with a domestic abuser. Clean out your office by 8:00 a.m. tomorrow."
Click.
The dial tone buzzed in Derek’s ear.
He stared at the phone in absolute disbelief, his breath hitching in his throat. He threw the device against the glass balcony door, shattering the screen into a thousand glittering pieces.
"Damn it!" he screamed, kicking a designer armchair across the room.
From the hallway, the sound of soft, hesitant footsteps approached. Lauren Price stood in the doorway, wearing a silk bathrobe, her makeup washed off, looking significantly less glamorous than she had under the ballroom chandeliers.
"Derek..." she began cautiously. "Is everything okay? My phone has been buzzing nonstop. The PR firm we hired for the corporate gala just dropped us. My Twitter account is flooded with thousands of angry comments calling me an accomplice."
Derek whipped his head around, his eyes wild and bloodshot. "Your Twitter account?! My life is falling apart! I just lost my partnership, my reputation, and half my net worth in thirty minutes, and you're worried about your social media mentions?!"
"My reputation is tied to yours!" Lauren snapped back, her fear finally giving way to anger. "You told me your wife was just a hysterical dependent! You told me the divorce was already practically finalized! You didn't tell me you were going to lose your temper and beat her with a belt in front of the entire Chicago elite!"
"She provoked me!" Derek yelled, stepping toward her. "She spilled red wine all over my custom Tom Ford suit! She wanted to humiliate me!"
Lauren flinched, stepping back as Derek closed the distance. The look in his eyes—the wild, unpredictable fury that she had previously found thrillingly dominant—suddenly looked terrifyingly unhinged.
"I'm staying at a hotel tonight," Lauren said coldly, grabbing her designer handbag off the entryway console. "Don't call me until you figure your life out."
"Lauren, wait—!"
May you like
She slammed the heavy oak door in his face.
Derek stood alone in the dark, cavernous penthouse. For the first time in his life, his charm, his money, and his lies couldn't talk him out of the corner he had painted himself into. He walked slowly to the window, looking out over the glittering Chicago skyline, realizing too late that the woman he had treated like disposable property had just taken everything away from him.
