Chapter 4 - Grant Realizes His Entire Corporate Empire Is Collapsing
Grant’s phone began vibrating violently inside his coat pocket, the harsh, electronic buzz cutting through the sound of Sabrina’s weeping.
He pulled out the device with numb, shaking fingers, seeing the caller ID display the name of his chief operating officer, Marcus Vance.
Grant hesitated for three seconds before sliding his thumb across the glowing screen and placing the phone to his ear.
“Grant! Where the hell are you?!” Marcus screamed through the speaker so loudly that everyone in the room could hear him clearly.
“I’m at the lake house, Marcus, what is going on?” Grant stammered, turning his back on Claire and David.
“The city building inspectors just pulled the permits for the uptown high-rise project!” Marcus yelled frantically.
“They said Rowan Holdings withdrew all structural engineering certifications twenty minutes ago!” the officer continued, panting for breath.
“And that’s not all! Our primary lender, Bank of America, just froze our twelve-million-dollar credit facility!” Marcus added in total despair.
Grant felt the room spin around him, the high wooden ceilings of the villa suddenly feeling like a collapsing cage.
“Fix it, Marcus! Call the attorneys! Call the mayor’s office!” Grant ordered, his voice rising into a desperate, hollow shriek.
“Fix it?!” Marcus laughed bitterly over the phone. “The attorneys just resigned because their retainers were paid from a frozen account!”
The line went dead with a harsh tone, leaving Grant holding the silent phone against his cold ear in complete disbelief.
He turned around slowly, looking at Claire, who was standing beside David near the kitchen island with quiet, dignified authority.
“You planned this,” Grant whispered, his eyes wide with a terrifying combination of rage and deep-seated panic.
“You didn't just defend yourself, Claire... you set me up from the very beginning,” he accused, taking two steps toward her.
David immediately stepped in front of Claire, his tall, muscular frame completely blocking Grant’s line of sight.
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“Touch her or step closer, Grant, and the private security detail waiting outside will remove you in handcuffs,” David warned sharply.
Grant stopped in his tracks, looking past David’s shoulder at Claire, who looked back at him without a single trace of fear or regret.
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