Chapter 4 - The Intern's Illusion
While Flynn was being unceremoniously stripped of his corporate identity on 5th Avenue, Selina Chen was relaxing in her luxurious 3,500-square-foot penthouse overlooking Central Park.
Wearing a silk robe, she paced through the marble hallway of the apartment, nursing a cup of warm tea while holding her fifteen-month-old son, Leo. She was feeling exceptionally pleased with herself. Yesterday, Flynn had taken her to the hospital room to assert her dominance over Mabel. He had promised her that once Mabel was pushed out, Selina would become the official Mrs. Vance, and her son would inherit the entirety of the $1.5 billion legacy.
Suddenly, the front door’s electronic lock chimed with a harsh, descending error tone.
Selina frowned, walking toward the foyer. She tried to open the door, but the handle was locked tight. Before she could process what was happening, the door was unlocked from the outside using a master keycard.
Three men in heavy dark uniforms accompanied by a female sheriff’s deputy stepped inside, followed closely by a process server holding a thick stack of papers.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Selina gasped, pulling her baby closer to her chest. "Who are you people? How dare you break into my private home! Do you know who my partner is? Flynn Vance! The CEO of Vance Global!"
"Correction, Ms. Chen," the female deputy said firmly, holding up a legal warrant. "This property is owned by Aegis Asset Management, an entity currently under emergency receivership by order of the New York State Supreme Court. The property has been seized as part of an active corporate recovery action."
"Seized?!" Selina’s voice shrieked in horror. "That’s impossible! Flynn bought this penthouse for me! It’s in my child’s name!"
"The funds used to purchase this penthouse were fraudulently diverted from the Vance Family Trust," the process server interrupted, handing her an eviction notice and a summons to appear in court. "You are being served with a formal notice of immediate eviction. You have two hours to pack your personal clothing and leave the premises. All high-value items, including luxury jewelry, artwork, and designer goods purchased using Aegis Asset funds, are frozen and subject to immediate inventory by the receiver."
"No! You can't do this! Call Flynn! Call him right now!" Selina screamed, her composure completely shattering as she fumbled frantically for her iPhone on the foyer table.
She dialed Flynn’s personal number. The line rang once, twice, three times, before going straight to voicemail. She dialed again and again, her hands shaking violently.
When Flynn finally picked up on the fifth try, his voice was barely recognizable. He sounded broken, breathless, and completely hysterical.
"Selina..." Flynn gasped into the phone, the noise of heavy city traffic echoing behind him. "Selina, where are you?"
"Flynn! What is going on?!" Selina yelled into the receiver, tears of panic finally breaking through her heavy makeup. "There are police and court marshals in the penthouse! They’re saying the apartment is seized! They’re telling me I have two hours to get out! Fix this right now!"
"I... I can't fix it, Selina," Flynn stammered, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "Mabel... Mabel took everything. She locked the trust. She fired me from the board. The SEC is freezing my personal assets. I don't even have access to my credit cards! My driver left me on the street! I had to take a subway, Selina!"
Selina felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head. The fantasy of wealth, power, and high society that she had spent two years carefully constructing was crumbling into dust right before her eyes.
"What do you mean you don't have money?!" Selina shrieked, her voice dropping all affection, replaced by raw, ugly desperation. "You told me you controlled the $1.5 billion trust! You told me Mabel was just a helpless housewife who did whatever you said!"
"She lied to me! She set a trap!" Flynn cried out. "Selina, pack what you can! Come down to the street! We’ll go to a hotel—"
"A hotel?!" Selina spat into the phone, her face twisting in pure disgust. "With what money, Flynn?! How are you going to pay for a hotel if your cards are frozen?! How are you going to support me and Leo?!"
"Selina... we’re in this together! We have our son—"
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"Don't 'our son' me!" Selina screamed, her true colors bursting forth with venomous clarity. "I only stayed with you because you were the CEO of Vance Global! You think I wanted to raise a kid with a disgraced, broke middle-aged man facing SEC charges?! If you don't have the trust, you’re nothing to me!"
She slammed the phone down, ending the call, and fell against the marble wall, clutching her screaming infant as the marshals began tagging her luxury handbags with evidence labels.
