Chapter 4: The Public Unraveling
The car didn't stop at Oakhaven Heights. It pulled over to the side of a deserted highway. The driver, a man who had served Eleanor for decades, stepped out and opened the door.
"Get out," Eleanor said.
"This is the middle of nowhere!" Julian screamed, panic finally shattering his composure. "You can't leave me here! I have nothing! No phone service, no money, no connections!"
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"You have exactly what you deserve," she replied. She reached into her bag and handed him a crumpled twenty-dollar bill. "Buy a bus ticket. It’s more than you’ve earned in your entire life."
As he stood on the side of the road, the limousine pulled away. Julian watched it disappear, his expensive Italian leather shoes sinking into the mud. He tried to call his associates, but his phone was a brick. He tried to call his wife, but she had already received the automated notification from the bank that their joint accounts were frozen. His life of influence, built on his mother's foundation, had evaporated in the time it took to drive ten miles.
