Chapter 3 - The Empty Nursery
Adrian didn't change his clothes. He didn't even wash the stale travel grease from his face. He grabbed his car keys, bolted out of the penthouse, and drove downtown like a man possessed, his black sedan running two red lights before screeching to a halt in the subterranean garage of Vale Meridian Tower.
He swiped his titanium executive keycard against the private elevator terminal.
ACCESS DENIED. SECURITY PROTOCOL 9-B.
"Dammit!" Adrian slammed his fist against the glass panel, panting heavily.
"Looking for your office, Mr. Vale?"
Adrian spun around. Standing near the elevators was Marcus Vance, the senior partner of our corporate legal firm, holding a leather briefcase and looking at Adrian with the clinical detachment of a surgeon examining a corpse.
"Marcus," Adrian choked out, lunging forward. "What is happening upstairs? Claire has completely lost her mind. She's grief-stricken over a routine complication and she's trying to stage a corporate coup while I'm dealing with a family tragedy—"
"The tragedy, Adrian, is that you didn't check your corporate expense reports before you billed a romantic weekend with your communications director to a federal grant account," Marcus interrupted, his voice cool and utterly devoid of professional warmth. "And as for your wife—she hasn't lost her mind at all. In fact, she was sharper this morning than I’ve ever seen her in ten years of practice."
Marcus pulled a pristine envelope from his briefcase and extended it toward Adrian.
"What is that?" Adrian asked, his hands staying glued to his sides.
"It's a formal copy of the divorce complaint," Marcus said, letting the envelope drop onto the polished floor near Adrian's shoes. "Grounds: adultery, abandonment during a life-threatening medical crisis, and systematic dissipation of marital assets. Furthermore, Claire is petitioning for a full forensic audit of every subsidiary you've touched since you assumed the executive seat."
Adrian stared down at the white envelope, the reality of the situation finally beginning to pierce his armor of absolute entitlement. He had spent five years treating Vale Meridian as his personal kingdom, forgetting that the crown had never belonged to him. It had been lent to him by a woman he thought he could ignore indefinitely.
"Where is she?" Adrian whispered, his voice cracking. "Where did she go from the hospital?"
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"She didn't come back here," Marcus said, turning toward the arriving elevator. "And if I were you, Adrian, I wouldn't bother looking. She’s already secured an injunction freezing all your personal accounts pending the asset division."
The elevator doors slid open. Marcus stepped inside, leaving Adrian standing alone in the cold, humming silence of the empty basement garage.
