At exactly two o’clock, Crestwood Holdings began changing.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
At first, it was just access badges.
Dominic arrived at the headquarters lobby twenty minutes after I did.
Natalie was with him.
So was his mother, Victoria.
Dominic walked toward the executive elevators and scanned his badge.
Red light.
He tried again.
Red.
A security officer stepped forward.
“Mr. Vance, your building access has been suspended.”
Dominic laughed.
“Fix it.”
The officer did not move.
Dominic scanned again.
Red.
Then he saw me standing across the lobby.
His expression changed.
“Audrey.”
I walked toward him.
Victoria stepped forward.
“What have you done?”
I ignored her.
Dominic looked furious.
“This is my company.”
“No,” I said.
“You worked here.”
He laughed once.
“You cannot remove me.”
Behind me, the head of Corporate Security approached with two members of Legal.
Dominic’s smile disappeared.
Natalie looked confused.
Victoria looked angry.
“What is this?”
I handed Dominic a document.
Temporary suspension pending internal investigation.
His eyes moved rapidly across the first page.
Vendor fraud.
Unauthorized expenses.
Conflicts of interest.
Procurement irregularities.
He looked up.
“You’re bluffing.”
I shook my head.
Then the elevators opened.
My father stepped out.
Dominic immediately changed tone.
“Richard. Tell her she has lost her mind.”
My father looked at him calmly.
“I approved every action.”
Silence.
Victoria stepped forward.
“You cannot dismantle this company because Audrey is emotional about a divorce.”
My father almost smiled.
“This has nothing to do with the divorce.”
Then he handed Victoria another file.
Her name appeared across the front.
She went pale.
For the next three hours, employees connected to questionable contracts were called into conference rooms.
Some were cleared.
Others were suspended.
Company credit cards stopped working.
Consulting agreements were frozen.
Vendor payments were placed under review.
Dominic’s allies began calling him.
He could not help them.
For years, he had built influence through access.
Now access was disappearing one badge at a time.
Before leaving the lobby, Dominic looked at me.
“You’re going to destroy Crestwood.”
I stepped closer.
“No.”
I looked toward the employees still moving through the building.
“I’m removing what was destroying it.”
Natalie stared at me.
Then her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her company card had just been declined.
For the first time since the courthouse, nobody was laughing.
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