Chapter 9 - THE FALL OF A FALSE KING
By eight the following morning, Jenna Cole had become the most discussed woman in Chicago.
News websites published photographs of her leaving the Grand Aldridge.
Television commentators debated whether she had manipulated Vincent Marino.
Anonymous sources claimed she had deliberately damaged his jacket to make herself indispensable.
Others alleged that she had been secretly involved with Dominic.
The most outrageous headline suggested she was carrying Vincent's child.
Jenna sat in the estate's kitchen, staring at her phone.
She had never experienced anything like it.
Her name was everywhere.
Her face appeared beside words like opportunist, mistress and blackmailer.
Lily sat beside her, eating cereal.
“Mommy, why are people saying bad things?”
Jenna turned the phone facedown.
“Sometimes people tell stories because they don't know the truth.”
“Can we tell them?”
Jenna looked toward the hallway.
Vincent entered.
He had been discharged from the hospital that morning, against his doctor's recommendation.
He looked exhausted, but his expression was determined.
“We can,” he said.
Jenna stood.
“You shouldn't be working.”
“I have one meeting.”
“You have a medical appointment.”
“I'll attend both.”
He placed a folder on the table.
“Everything Dominic has claimed can be disproved.”
Jenna opened it.
There were bank records, hospital reports, hotel security footage and statements from several employees.
The evidence showed that she had discovered the device accidentally while repairing Vincent's jacket.
It also showed that Dominic had ordered the suit to be repaired personally.
The pregnancy allegation was particularly easy to disprove.
Jenna had not been pregnant.
Vincent had never made such a claim.
Dominic had fabricated the story to damage their credibility.
“Why would he say something so ridiculous?”
“Because he wants people discussing your personal life instead of his crimes.”
Vincent sat opposite her.
“I'm going to end it today.”
The emergency board meeting was scheduled for noon at the Grand Aldridge.
By eleven-thirty, the hotel's ballroom was full.
Executives, attorneys, shareholders and reporters occupied the front rows.
Dominic stood on the stage in an expensive navy suit.
Vanessa's absence was noticeable.
Dominic smiled at the cameras.
“My brother is a good man,” he began. “But unfortunately, he has suffered a long medical decline. Recent events have demonstrated that he is no longer capable of making sound decisions.”
He displayed several medical documents.
“His judgment has been compromised. His association with an employee who has no business experience has exposed our company to unnecessary risk.”
A reporter raised her hand.
“Are you referring to Jenna Cole?”
Dominic smiled.
“I'm referring to a person whose motives are currently under investigation.”
The ballroom doors opened.
Vincent entered.
Conversation stopped.
He walked slowly, supported by a cane, but his eyes were clear.
Jenna followed beside him.
Dominic's smile disappeared.
“Vincent.”
“Dominic.”
“You shouldn't be here.”
“Neither should you.”
Vincent took the stage.
The board members exchanged nervous glances.
Dominic tried to regain control.
“My brother has not been medically cleared.”
Vincent turned toward the audience.
“That's true. I am recovering from an injury.”
He paused.
“But my brother is not recovering from a conscience. He never had one.”
A murmur spread through the room.
Vincent signaled to the technicians.
The first recording played.
Dominic's voice filled the ballroom.
“Once the implant starts malfunctioning, Vincent will become unpredictable. The board will consider him medically unfit.”
The room went silent.
The second recording played.
It contained Dominic discussing the original shooting.
Then came the financial transfers.
Millions of dollars.
Shell companies.
Payments to medical personnel.
Payments to Vanessa Sterling.
Dominic stood motionless.
“This is fabricated!”
Vincent looked at him.
“Then explain why the bank records match the recordings.”
Dominic turned toward the board.
“My brother is manipulating you.”
Jenna stepped forward.
“No. He's showing you what you refused to see.”
Dominic laughed.
“And what would you know about business?”
“I know what it looks like when someone tells a lie because they're afraid of the truth.”
She placed the original jacket on the table.
“The device was hidden here. I found it while repairing a button. You told me not to inspect anything else because you knew exactly what was inside.”
Dominic's face changed.
Vincent continued.
“My mother is alive. She was hidden in a private facility for twelve years. The man who shot me has confessed. The doctor who helped manipulate my medical treatment is dead.”
A board member stood.
“Where is Dominic's authorization for the medical equipment?”
Vincent produced the document.
It contained Dominic's signature.
The room erupted.
Dominic suddenly rushed toward the table.
He grabbed the microphone and shouted.
“You think you're innocent? You think you're some kind of hero? You built this family on blood!”
Vincent did not move.
“Perhaps.”
Dominic pointed at him.
“But I was the one who kept it alive!”
“You kept it profitable.”
Vincent leaned closer.
“You confused money with loyalty.”
Dominic's expression twisted.
“You took everything from me!”
“No. You tried to take everything from me.”
Security officers entered the ballroom.
Dominic attempted to leave through the side door.
Two detectives intercepted him.
He struggled as they placed him under arrest.
“This is my family!” he shouted.
Vincent looked at him.
“Family is the one thing you should never have betrayed.”
As Dominic was escorted away, Vanessa appeared at the back of the ballroom.
She had been released under strict conditions to attend the hearing with investigators.
She approached Vincent.
“Can we talk?”
“No.”
“Please.”
She looked toward Jenna.
“You have no idea what this woman has done to your life.”
Vincent's voice was calm.
“She saved it.”
Vanessa began crying.
“I loved you.”
Vincent looked at her for a long moment.
“You loved the position beside me.”
She shook her head.
“I made mistakes.”
“You helped someone poison my life, threaten a child and imprison my mother.”
“I didn't know—”
“You knew enough.”
He turned away.
Vanessa stood alone.
The detectives escorted her out.
The board immediately suspended Dominic's authority and approved an independent investigation into the company's finances.
Vincent announced that all legitimate business operations would be placed under independent oversight.
He also revealed that he intended to sell several assets connected to the family's illegal activities and cooperate fully with law enforcement.
For the first time in years, the Marino name was being separated from the criminal empire that had made it feared.
Outside the hotel, reporters crowded around Jenna.
One shouted, “Ms. Cole! Are you planning to marry Vincent Marino?”
Another asked, “Are you receiving a financial settlement?”
Jenna stopped.
She looked directly at the cameras.
“I repaired a jacket. I didn't ask for a fortune, a mansion or a man's last name. I asked for my daughter to be safe.”
Then she walked away.
That evening, Vincent found her in the garden.
Lily was playing beneath the trees.
“Tomorrow, I want to take you somewhere,” he said.
Jenna smiled faintly.
“Another hospital?”
“No.”
“Another interrogation?”
“Definitely not.”
He handed her a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph of an old building.
It was a community center on the south side of Chicago.
“My mother used to volunteer there,” Vincent explained. “She wants to reopen it.”
Jenna looked at him.
“Why are you showing me?”
“Because she wants you to help her.”
He paused.
“And because I have something else to ask.”
Jenna's heart began beating faster.
Before he could continue, a car pulled into the driveway.
A woman stepped out.
She carried a folder and wore a serious expression.
“Mr. Marino?”
Vincent turned.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Rebecca Hayes. I'm the attorney handling your father's estate.”
She opened the folder.
“There is one final document you need to see.”
Vincent frowned.
“My father's estate was settled years ago.”
“Not entirely.”
She handed him a sealed letter.
“Your father left instructions that this document could only be opened after Dominic's crimes became public.”
Vincent opened it.
The first sentence made his face turn pale.
May you like
My son, if Dominic has finally fallen, you must know that he was never the only person responsible.
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