Chapter 6 - The Fall of Arrogance
The fallout wasn’t contained to Dominic alone.
Arrogance was a family trait, and the universe had an incredible way of balancing the scales.
Victoria and Natalie had built their recent social lives entirely around Dominic’s sudden wealth.
Victoria had bragged to all her friends at the country club about her billionaire son.
Natalie had quit her entry-level job, living off the generous allowance Dominic provided her.
When the money vanished, the reality check was brutal.
Natalie attempted to use the black credit card Dominic had given her at an upscale boutique in Soho.
She had gathered nearly five thousand dollars’ worth of clothes.
When the cashier swiped the card, it declined.
“Try it again,” Natalie snapped impatiently. “The machine must be broken.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the clerk said, looking embarrassed. “The bank has placed a hard freeze on the account.”
Humiliated in front of the other wealthy shoppers, Natalie stormed out, furiously calling Dominic.
He finally answered, his voice hollow.
“The money is gone, Nat,” he whispered.
“What do you mean it’s gone?! Dominic, fix this! I need these shoes for the gala this weekend!”
“There is no gala. There is no money. I’m bankrupt.”
Across town, Victoria was having her own crisis.
She had invited the country club's elite women to an exclusive tea service, intending to bill it to Dominic's corporate account.
When the manager discreetly informed her that the corporate account no longer existed, she nearly fainted.
She had to beg her husband, Arthur, to empty his meager retirement savings just to cover the bill and save face.
The illusion was shattered.
When they found out why the money was gone, the family erupted into chaos.
“She was a Brooks?!” Victoria screamed in the tiny, cramped apartment she shared with Arthur.
“And you made her take a bus?! Are you out of your mind?!”
“You hated her too, Mom!” Dominic yelled back. “You called her a peasant!”
“I wouldn't have called her a peasant if I knew her father owned half of Manhattan!” she shrieked.
They turned on each other like starved animals.
Without my quiet patience to absorb their cruelty, they had no one left to aim it at but themselves.
Dominic sat on the floor of his parents' apartment, holding his head in his hands.
He had lost his company.
He had lost his luxury life.
He had lost the woman who truly loved him.
He had lost his son.
May you like
And as the divorce papers arrived via a stern-faced process server later that evening, Dominic finally understood the true cost of his arrogance.
He had traded an empire for a cheap lunch reservation.
