Chapter 9 - The Power Vacuum
With Thomas Whitaker officially arrested, the entire Vale Urban Partners corporate board went into a blind panic.
The massive Uptown project was now completely frozen indefinitely under a strict federal investigation.
Ethan's construction company was bleeding massive amounts of money by the hour, entirely desperate for an immediate influx of cash.
He hastily called an emergency press conference in the grand lobby of the Mercer Construction building.
He desperately planned to lie to the public and assure his angry shareholders that everything was completely fine.
Hannah stood silently at the back of the crowded lobby, watching her husband sweat profusely under the bright camera lights.
Ethan smiled nervously into the cameras and falsely announced that his marriage to Hannah Vale was stronger than it had ever been.
He boldly claimed that the powerful Vale family was fully backing his company financially through this minor legal delay.
Hannah confidently stepped through the dense crowd of reporters, her designer heels clicking loudly and rhythmically on the marble floor.
The cameras instantly flashed wildly as the billionaire's daughter gracefully approached the wooden podium.
Ethan reached his sweaty hand out to her, playing the part of the loving, supportive husband perfectly for the press.
Hannah completely ignored his outstretched hand and pulled a thick, legally binding document from her leather briefcase.
She spoke directly into the array of microphones, her voice crystal clear and entirely unshaken by the pressure.
She loudly announced to the world that she was officially filing for divorce due to Ethan's severe infidelity and financial fraud.
She then slapped the divorce papers directly onto Ethan's chest on live television.
The aggressive reporters erupted into an absolute frenzy of shouted questions and blinding camera flashes.
Ethan turned bright purple, publicly humiliated on a scale he had never even begun to imagine.
He desperately tried to grab the microphone back to somehow salvage the disastrous public relations nightmare.
Suddenly, Vanessa pushed her way violently to the front of the podium, fake tears streaming rapidly down her face.
She aggressively grabbed the microphone from Ethan and completely ignored his panicked pleas.
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She proudly held up a signed, heavily notarized document for all the television cameras to clearly see.
The entire crowd gasped collectively as Vanessa announced she was the new majority shareholder and legal owner of Mercer Construction.
