Chapter 5 - The Cracks in the Glass Slipper
The fallout was spectacular and absolute.
Over the next month, Vale Hospitality was torn apart by vultures.
Without the Sterling merger, and with the SEC breathing down their necks, the board of directors had to make drastic choices.
They needed a savior.
They needed someone who understood the company’s architecture, its hidden assets, and its actual risk profile better than anyone else.
They needed me.
I was sitting in my home office when the call came.
It was Richard Vance, the Chairman of the Board.
“Evelyn,” he started, his voice dripping with forced politeness. “How are you and the baby?”
“Cut the pleasantries, Richard. You’re billing by the minute, and I’m busy,” I replied, putting him on speakerphone while I reviewed a legal document.
Richard cleared his throat.
“We are in a difficult position. Dominic’s... indiscretions have left us vulnerable. We are facing bankruptcy within the quarter.”
“I read the reports. You’re actually facing bankruptcy in three weeks,” I corrected him.
There was a heavy pause on the line.
“Evelyn, you know this company better than Dominic ever did. We all knew you were the brains behind the acquisitions.”
“Funny,” I mused. “I remember being called ‘difficult’ and ‘cautious’ in board meetings.”
“We were wrong,” Richard said quickly. Desperation makes people very honest. “We need you back. We need you to guide us through restructuring. Name your price.”
I smiled.
I had been waiting for this call for exactly thirty-two days.
“I don’t want a salary, Richard.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I want Dominic’s shares. All of them. They are currently frozen in the divorce settlement. I want the board to support my claim to seize them as compensation for unpaid advisory fees and marital fraud.”
“Evelyn, that would make you the majority shareholder. You would own the company.”
“Yes,” I said simply. “I would.”
“And if we say no?”
“Then I release the rest of the offshore data to the feds tomorrow, and Vale Hospitality gets dismantled by the government. Your pensions go up in smoke. It’s your choice.”
Richard didn’t hesitate for long.
“We will draw up the papers today.”
I hung up the phone.
The glass slipper hadn't just cracked; I had taken a hammer to it and built a throne from the shards.
Later that afternoon, I received a text from an unknown number.
It was an article link.
The headline read: FORMER HOTEL MOGUL DOMINIC VALE SPOTTED MOVING INTO MOTEL FOLLOWING FRAUD SCANDAL.
Below it was a picture of Dominic, looking gaunt, carrying a cardboard box into a rundown motel on the edge of the city.
Attached to the link was a message.
I thought you should see this. - Celeste.
I stared at the message.
Celeste had lost a lot, but she had her father’s money to fall back on. Dominic had nothing.
I didn’t reply.
May you like
I just deleted the text and blocked the number.
The past was finally dead.
