Chapter 2 - The Delusional Household
While I rested inside the security perimeter of the Robertson Estate, Jasper Vance was enjoying what he considered the crowning moment of his adult life.
At an exclusive steakhouse in downtown Boston, Jasper sat at the head of a long reservation table. Beside him sat his mother, Gillian, dressed in a brand-new pastel suit he had purchased for her, and his sister, Priscilla, who was busy taking photos of her champagne glass to post on social media. Across from them sat two lower-level corporate partners from Vance Dynamics.
Jasper picked up his wine glass, swirling the dark cabernet with practiced elegance.
"To family," Gillian announced proudly, her diamonds sparkling under the restaurant chandeliers. "And to Jasper, who has brought this family back to the social status we truly deserve!"
"Hear, hear!" Priscilla chimed in. "Honestly, Jasper, moving back into that luxury high-rise was the best decision you ever made. It’s about time you stopped letting Hailey drag you down with her modest taste."
Jasper took a sip of his wine, a smirk playing on his lips. "Hailey simply doesn't understand the corporate world, Mom. She thinks small. She was content with her father's little contracting business. But now that Vance Dynamics is being noticed by top-tier investors, I have an image to maintain."
"Speaking of Hailey," Priscilla laughed, cutting into her wagyu steak. "Where is she? Did she actually take the bus back to the apartment?"
"Of course she did," Jasper chuckled dismissively. "She made a dramatic scene at the hospital entrance, but I put my foot down. I told her I needed the SUV for you guys. She needs to learn that my schedule takes priority now. She's probably sitting in the apartment right now, crying over those leftovers I told her to eat."
Gillian scoffed loudly. "Five days after a C-section and she’s already acting like a tragic martyr. My mother was back in the garden forty-eight hours after giving birth to me. Women from her background just lack stamina."
One of Jasper's junior partners cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, Jasper... isn't your lead investor, the representative from Apex Horizon, supposed to attend the quarterly milestone review tomorrow morning?"
"Yes," Jasper said, puffing out his chest confidently. "Mr. Sterling, the managing director of Apex, will be at our headquarters at ten sharp. We've hit ninety percent of our product milestones. Once he signs off on the Q3 report, Apex will release the next fifteen million dollars in operational capital."
"Fifteen million!" Priscilla gasped, her eyes gleaming with greed. "Jasper, you'll be an actual billionaire by next year!"
"It’s practically guaranteed," Jasper boasted, setting his glass down. "The investors love me. They see me as the next tech visionary."
Around eight o'clock that evening, the lunch finally ended. Jasper drove his mother and sister back to the high-rise apartment in my luxury SUV, parking it carelessly across two spots in the underground garage.
When they rode the private elevator up to the penthouse apartment, Jasper unlocked the front door with a keycard, fully expecting to find me sitting on the sofa, waiting to apologize for making a scene at the hospital.
Instead, the apartment was completely dark.
"Hailey?" Jasper called out, flipping on the foyer lights. "Hailey, we’re back. Bring some water for my mother."
No answer came.
Gillian walked into the living room, looking around in disgust. "The place is freezing. And why aren't the lights on? Where is she?"
Jasper walked down the hallway to the master bedroom and pushed the door open. The bed was made. The bassinet he had refused to help set up was empty.
He walked over to the closet. His suits were hanging in neat rows, but the entire left side of the walk-in closet—where my clothes, shoes, and bags usually rested—was completely bare. Every single piece of my clothing had vanished.
On the vanity table in the center of the room, a single object sat directly beneath the light.
Jasper walked over, his brow furrowing in confusion.
It was the folded bus fare he had pressed into my hand five days after my surgery—a twenty-dollar bill and three loose quarters—resting directly on top of his gold wedding ring.
Beside the ring lay a formal legal document with a heavy red seal stamped at the top:
NOTICE OF IMMEDIATE SEPARATION AND PROPERTY SEIZURE.
Gillian stepped into the bedroom, frowning. "What is that, Jasper? Is she playing some kind of pathetic emotional game?"
Jasper picked up the paper, his hands suddenly trembling as his eyes scanned the text.
"This... this isn't an emotional game," Jasper stammered, his face draining of color as he read the signature at the bottom of the document. "This is... this is from the legal department of Robertson Global Corporation."
"Robertson Global?" Priscilla scoffed from the doorway. "Isn't that her father's little construction company?"
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Jasper dropped the paper onto the vanity, his heart pounding against his ribs like a trapped bird as a sudden, terrible realization began to take root in his mind.
"Her father doesn't own a little construction company," Jasper whispered, his voice cracking with terror. "Robertson Global is a fifty-billion-dollar multinational conglomerate..."
