chapter 6
Because the penthouse downtown had been purchased using a loan structured through an Apex corporate subsidiary, the property was immediately foreclosed upon.
One rainy Tuesday afternoon, six weeks after childbirth, I sat in the back of my town car, watching from across the street as the eviction movers threw Adrian and Chloe’s belongings into a dumpster. Chloe stood on the wet sidewalk, screaming at the movers, her designer heels sinking into the muddy gutter. Her luxury lifestyle had vanished in a matter of days. The high-society friends who had fawned over her at the gala had blocked her number; the boutiques she frequented had blacklisted her name.
Adrian was released on a massive bail, funded entirely by a predatory loan shark since his personal bank accounts had been frozen by a court order. He had no job, no reference, and a pending federal indictment for grand larceny.
He tried to call my phone dozens of times, but his number was blocked. He even attempted to show up at the Vanguard Medical Wing, but the private security force turned him away before his foot could even touch the steps.
He was experiencing the exact reality he had planned for me: isolated, penniless, and buried under a mountain of legal documents he couldn't afford to fight.
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I rolled up the window of the town car, feeling no joy, only a profound sense of justice. My boys were thriving. They were gaining weight, their cheeks turning rosy and healthy under the care of the best pediatricians in the country. They were Vanguards now. Their birth certificate had been amended by a court order to reflect my family name. The name Vance was erased from our lives like chalk in the rain.
"To the estate in Rhode Island, Arthur," I told the driver. "The boys need the fresh ocean air."
