Chapter 14 - The Workplace Ambush
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Two days later, Derek Foster was living out of his car, bouncing between cheap motels he could barely afford on a maxed-out emergency credit card. His anger had festered into an obsessive, desperate need to confront Skylar and force her to drop the protective order.
He knew she wouldn't answer her phone, and he knew he couldn't go near the apartment. But he knew exactly where she worked.
At 8:30 AM, Derek marched into the grand lobby of the Miami logistics firm where Skylar was a senior project manager. He wore a wrinkled suit, hoping to bypass the security desk by looking like he belonged there.
He strode purposefully toward the elevator banks, bypassing the visitor sign-in sheet.
"Excuse me, sir!" a large security guard called out, stepping directly into Derek's path. "Can I see your badge?"
"I don't have a badge, I'm going up to the fourth floor to see my wife, Skylar Foster," Derek said, attempting to project authority. "It's a family emergency."
The security guard’s eyes narrowed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, laminated photograph. It was a picture of Derek, provided by Skylar's legal team, clearly stamped with a bright red DO NOT ADMIT banner.
Skylar had been incredibly thorough. She had proactively notified building security, human resources, and her immediate supervisors about the violent assault and the active restraining order.
"Mr. Foster," the guard said, his voice dropping into a stern, commanding register. "We have an active restraining order on file prohibiting you from being within five hundred feet of this building. You are trespassing."
Derek’s face flushed a deep, humiliating red as several employees in the busy lobby stopped to stare.
"You don't understand, she stole my money!" Derek shouted, losing whatever remained of his composure. "I need to talk to her!"
Two more security guards quickly flanked him, grabbing his arms firmly.
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"We are escorting you off the premises immediately," the head guard stated. "If you resist, or if you return, the Miami police will be called, and you will be arrested for violating a court order."
They frog-marched Derek across the polished marble floor and physically shoved him out the revolving glass doors, right onto the busy sidewalk in front of dozens of Skylar's coworkers. Derek stumbled, nearly falling onto the concrete. He looked up at the towering glass building, realizing with crushing finality that Skylar had completely sealed off every avenue of control he once possessed.
