Chapter 6: The Fall of a King

The Vance Group offices looked like a war zone.

Employees rushed around, putting their personal things into boxes. Lawyers walked quickly through the halls with serious faces. Phones kept ringing, but no one answered them.

In less than two days, the empire Jasper Vance had spent his whole life building was gone.

Jasper stood alone in his empty office. He stared through the window at the Wright International building across the street.

He held a glass of scotch in one hand. His eyes were red, and dark circles showed under them.

His suit jacket was gone. His shirt sleeves were rolled up.

But there was nothing left for him to do.

One hour ago, the board had removed him as CEO.

The door suddenly opened.

Victoria Vance rushed inside. Her silver hair was messy, and she wasn't wearing her usual diamonds.

Her hands shook as she held a legal document.

"Jasper! The federal investigators just froze our bank accounts!" Victoria cried. "They say our money is connected to the theft of Project Artemis!"

She struggled to breathe.

"They're taking the mansion too! We have only forty-eight hours to leave!"

Jasper didn't turn around.

He slowly took a bitter drink.

"I know, Mother."

His voice was empty.

"Chloe already emptied the safe in the master bedroom. She left for the airport this morning. She even filed for divorce from her phone."

Victoria fell into a chair.

"That... that horrible woman! After everything we gave her!"

"We didn't give her anything, Mother," Jasper said quietly.

He finally turned around and placed his glass on the desk.

"She only wanted the rich version of me. Now that I'm facing prison and bankruptcy, she went back to where she came from."

Anger suddenly filled Jasper's chest.

He looked across the street at the tall Wright International building.

Yesterday, Avery had been a nobody in his house.

Someone he could ignore.

Someone he could insult whenever he wanted.

Today, she held his entire life in her hands.

"This isn't over," Jasper whispered.

His eyes became cold and dangerous.

He picked up his car keys.

"Avery is doing this because she's angry about the wedding. She wants to punish me."

He took a deep breath.

"But she's still a mother. She still cares about Leo."

He looked at his mother.

"If I go to her and tell her that Leo is suffering, she'll stop the lawsuit."

"Jasper, don't embarrass yourself anymore," Victoria warned.

But her voice was weak.

She was terrified of losing the rich life she had always enjoyed.

"I don't have any dignity left to lose, Mother."

Jasper walked past her and slammed the door behind him.

Across the street, Wright International was filled with reporters and famous business leaders.

Security was everywhere. Guards stood at every entrance, and special scanners checked everyone who entered.

Avery Vance walked through the large lobby with Ethan Wright's security team around her.

She looked beautiful and confident.

She wore a cream-colored blazer dress. Her dark hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders.

Beside her, Nina happily walked along while holding a new stuffed panda Ethan had bought for her.

Avery was going to a live press conference.

She was about to announce a new security system that would replace the software Jasper had stolen from her.

"Mommy, look at all the cameras!" Nina whispered.

She held Avery's hand tighter.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. Just look at me."

Avery smiled warmly at her daughter.

She stood tall and calm.

For the first time in years, she looked like the woman she had always been meant to become.

Then a desperate voice came from the entrance.

"Avery! Wait!"

Avery stopped.

Her security guards quickly moved in front of her.

Jasper Vance was pushing his way through the glass doors.

He looked completely broken.

His hair was messy. His eyes were wide, and his face was filled with desperation.

He pushed past the security barriers as reporters quickly turned their cameras toward him.

"Avery, please! Just give me five minutes!" Jasper shouted.

Two large security guards grabbed his arms.

"Let me talk to my wife!"

Avery looked at him through the gap between the guards.

She wasn't angry.

She wasn't happy about his suffering either.

Her face was completely cold.

Her indifference hurt Jasper more than any slap could have.

"You don't have a wife in this building, Mr. Vance," Avery said calmly.

Her voice carried across the lobby.

"Your wife is probably packing her bags with the money you stole."

"Avery, I'm sorry!"

Jasper's knees shook as the guards held him.

The man who had once been a powerful billionaire was now crying in front of dozens of cameras.

"I was wrong!"

His voice broke.

"My mother manipulated me. Chloe lied to me!"

He looked desperately at Avery.

"But think about Leo!"

Avery's face became still.

"He's at home crying for you," Jasper continued. "He won't eat. You can't do this to your own son!"

He began to cry harder.

"Take the company. Take the money. Take everything. Just come back and help me save the family!"

Avery's chest tightened when she heard Leo's name.

For one second, she remembered her son.

Then another memory came back.

Leo's cold face at the wedding.

"Go away! You're poor and embarrassing!"

Avery's heart hurt.

Leo had been influenced by others, but he had also chosen to hurt her.

She had been his mother.

She had loved him.

But he had chosen to turn against her.

Before Avery could answer, the entire lobby suddenly became silent.

Ethan Wright had stepped out of the private elevator.

He wore a black suit.

His tall body and cold expression made everyone stop talking.

His shoes clicked against the floor as he walked toward Avery.

He didn't look at the cameras.

His eyes stayed on Jasper.

"Remove him," Ethan ordered.

His deep voice filled the lobby.

"And file a permanent restraining order."

He stopped beside Avery.

"If Jasper Vance comes within one hundred yards of my CTO or her daughter again, I will make sure his bankruptcy case is moved to a maximum-security federal facility."

"Wright! You can't do this!" Jasper screamed.

"She's my family!"

The guards dragged him backward.

Jasper fought against them, but they pulled him through the glass doors and out onto the wet pavement.

The reporters rushed after him.

They wanted pictures of the former billionaire's downfall.

Avery turned away from the doors.

She looked at Ethan.

The cold look on his face disappeared.

His eyes became warm when he looked at her.

He held out his arm.

"The press room is ready, Tech Queen," Ethan said softly.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Let's show the world who really owns the future."

Avery smiled.

She placed her hand on his arm.

Then she looked at Nina.

Nina gave her a big thumbs-up.

Avery smiled even more.

Jasper Vance had built his kingdom using her stolen ideas.

But now, Avery was walking into a world he could never reach.