Chapter 13 - The Ashes of Cross Construction
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By the following Monday, the fall of Adrian Cross was complete.
Cross Construction filed for Chapter 7 liquidating bankruptcy. The company’s assets, heavy machinery, and office buildings were auctioned off on the courthouse steps for pennies on the dollar.
A subsidiary of Vance Global purchased the entire asset portfolio for a fraction of its value, absorbing Adrian’s former empire into my conglomerate without firing a single field worker.
Celeste Duval was arrested at O'Hare International Airport while trying to flee to Mexico with three stolen designer watches. She was charged with corporate fraud, filing a false police report, and grand larceny.
Adrian’s grand mansion in Chicago was foreclosed upon by Vance Commercial Bank.
On the day of the bank eviction, Adrian stood alone in the empty grand foyer.
The furniture had been moved out by court-ordered bailiffs. The crystal chandeliers were covered in protective plastic sheets. The house was cold, quiet, and completely dark.
Adrian walked slowly over to the marble console table near the front entrance—the exact spot where I had placed my wedding ring three weeks ago.
He reached out a shaking hand and touched the cold marble surface.
There, sitting in the center of the dust, was a small, white envelope addressed to him in my neat, elegant handwriting.
Adrian opened the envelope with trembling fingers.
Inside was a single printed photograph.
It was a photograph of the original marriage certificate we had signed four years ago. Written across the bottom in bold red ink was a single handwritten note from me:
May you like
THE DEBT IS PAID IN FULL.
Adrian collapsed onto the cold marble floor, clutching the piece of paper against his chest, and wept into the empty darkness of the house he had lost.
