The total silence inside the high-rise boardroom was terrifying. Brandon's chest moved up and down rapidly as he tried to process the reality of his situation. He looked down at Victoria, searching her face for any small sign of the sweet, quiet woman he had spent the last three years ordering around. There was nothing left in her eyes except ice.
Brandon: Victoria... please. We were happy together. We can talk about this like adults.
Victoria: We were never happy, Brandon. You were happy having a woman you could push around and humiliate to feel big.
Brandon: I was wrong! I was stressed about work! I did not mean those terrible things I said yesterday!
Victoria: You meant every single word. You genuinely believed I was nothing without your money.
She stood up smoothly from her leather chair. She looked tall, powerful, and commanding at the end of the long room. She pulled a gold fountain pen from her jacket pocket and signed the final document resting on her folder with a quick, elegant motion.
Victoria: Now you get to experience what it feels like to truly have nothing.
Brandon: What am I supposed to do now? Where am I supposed to go?
Victoria: You can start by getting a job, Brandon. A real job where you actually have to work for your living.
She closed her folder with a quiet snap. Two large security guards stepped into the boardroom through the side doors, walking straight toward Brandon. They stood on either side of him, holding their arms out toward the exit.
Security Guard: It is time for you to leave the premises now, sir.
Brandon: Do not touch me! I can walk out on my own!
Brandon took a step back, looking at Victoria one last time. Her face remained perfectly calm and unreadable as she picked up her personal tablet and turned her attention back to her legal team. She did not even look up as he was led away down the hall.
Ten minutes later, Brandon stepped out through the heavy revolving doors of the skyscraper into the glaring daylight of the busy city street. The morning traffic hummed loudly, and crowds of professionals rushed past him on their way to work. No one stopped to look at him. No one knew who he was.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his leather wallet. He opened it to find two crumpled twenty-dollar bills and three credit cards that were completely useless. He had no house, no car, no job, and no status left in the world. His phone vibrated in his hand once more. A text message from his mother appeared on the screen: THEY ARE TOWING THE CARS AWAY NOW. WHERE ARE WE GOING TO STAY TONIGHT?
Brandon dropped his hands to his sides. The hot sun beat down on his face, but he felt colder than he had ever felt in his entire life. He looked up at the towering glass building above him, watching two workers on a crane lowering the big brass letters of his family name off the front wall. The empire he had boasted about was gone forever, dismantled by the very woman he had called worthless just twenty-four hours ago.