Chapter 4 - The Arrogance Before the Fall
David burst into a loud, obnoxious laugh, throwing his head back in genuine amusement.
“Oh, that is rich!” David crowed, clapping his hands together mockingly. “Protocol Red-Zero? Corporate asset seizure? What are you going to do next, old man? Call the President? Have me court-martialed by the VFW?”
He walked closer to Arthur, leaning down slightly to look the older man dead in the eye, towering over him with all the corporate arrogance his wealth could buy.
“Let me educate you on how the real world works, you delusional old fraud,” David sneered, shaking a finger in Arthur’s face. “Sterling Development Group holds exclusive contracts with the city council, the state transportation board, and three major investment banks in New York. My net worth is north of eighty million dollars. My family dines with senators and governors. You think you can just snap your fingers and ruin me? You live in a two-bedroom shack off a dirt road!”
Clara watched from the hospital bed, her heart pounding against her ribs. She wanted to warn David. She wanted to scream at him to shut his mouth, to run, to beg for mercy while he still had a shred of it left. But the cold, terrible weight of her father’s silence stopped her.
She knew what her father was when he wore the uniform. She knew what men like Marcus Vance did when a general gave a direct order.
David turned his attention back to Clara, his expression twisting back into pure malice.
“And as for you,” David snarled, pointing a finger at her. “Don't think you’re walking away with a dime of my money in the divorce. I’ll drag this out in court for ten years. I’ll make sure you never see a courtroom judge who isn't already on my payroll. You’re done, Clara. Both of you.”
He turned on his heel, grabbing his expensive leather briefcase from the chair by the door.
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“I’m going back to the corporate office to finalize the quarterly earnings report,” David threw over his shoulder, sneering at Arthur one last time. “Try to find a decent nursing home for your father, Clara. He’s clearly hallucinating.”
With a sharp snap, David slammed the recovery room door behind him, his arrogant laughter echoing down the hallway as he walked away, blissfully unaware that the ground beneath his feet had already turned to dust.
