Part 11
Down in the main lobby,
the atmosphere exploded into absolute chaos as Daniel was led out in handcuffs by four uniformed police officers.
Flashbulbs erupted from every direction,
the local news reporters having been tipped off by Marcus earlier that morning.
"Daniel! Is it true you embezzled millions?"
"Did Clara catch you yourself?"
"What happens to the company now?"
The questions were shouted at him like physical blows,
but Daniel kept his head down,
his face burning with a fiery,
indelible shame.
He was pushed into the back of a waiting police cruiser,
the heavy door slamming shut,
cutting off the noise of the crowd.
As the car pulled away from the curb,
he looked through the tinted window,
catching sight of a sleek,
black town car parking across the street.
From the vehicle stepped Arthur and Eleanor Whitmore,
their expressions frantic as they tried to push through the media circus.
They had come to the building hoping to intercept Clara before the meeting,
unaware that the battle was already over.
"Ma'am,
sir,
you cannot enter the building without an appointment,"
the security guard at the front door stated,
his arm extended to bar their path.
"Do you know who I am?"
Eleanor shrieked,
her voice cracking with desperation as she tried to shove past him.
"I am the wife of the founder!"
"This is our company!"
"Not anymore,
Mrs. Whitmore,"
Marcus’s voice cut through the air as he stepped out from the elevator bay.
"By order of the CEO,
your access privileges have been permanently revoked."
"You are considered trespassers on this property."
Arthur stepped forward,
his face pale,
his hands shaking as he reached out toward Marcus.
"Marcus,
please,
just let us speak to Clara,"
he begged,
his voice cracking with a pathetic urgency.
"We are her parents."
"We just want to explain things,
it was all a misunderstanding."
Marcus looked at the older man,
his eyes filled with a cold,
professional disdain.
"Clara has nothing to say to you,
Arthur,"
he replied,
his voice flat and uncompromising.
"You signed away your loyalty when you sided with a criminal."
"Now,
I suggest you leave before I instruct the officers outside to arrest you for trespassing."
Eleanor let out a sharp,
horrified gasp,
clutching her husband’s arm as the reality of their complete banishment sank in.
They looked up at the towering skyscraper,
knowing that the daughter they had discarded now held their entire survival in her hands.
And from her high office on the top floor,
Clara looked down at the street below,
May you like
watching her parents turn around and walk away into the cold,
uncaring city.
