Chapter 4 - The Mistress's Rude Awakening
"Julian? What's going on?"
Chloe emerged from the bedroom, sensing the shift in the atmosphere. She froze when she saw me standing there surrounded by security and executives. She instinctively clutched the lapels of my custom cashmere coat.
"Take off my coat," I said quietly.
Chloe sneered, trying to maintain her bratty facade. "Julian bought this for me. He said I could have anything you left behind. You're trespassing!"
I didn't yell. I just looked at the Chief of Security. "Mr. Hayes, what is the penalty for grand larceny in this state?"
"Up to ten years in a federal penitentiary, ma'am," Hayes replied, his deep voice rumbling.
I looked back at Chloe. "That coat was commissioned for me in Milan. It is worth twenty-five thousand dollars. The emerald pendant around your neck is a Vanguard family heirloom appraised at two point four million dollars. If you do not take them both off in the next five seconds, Mr. Hayes will arrest you, and I will make sure you spend the best years of your youth in a concrete box."
Chloe’s eyes went wide. She looked at Julian for protection, but Julian was staring at the floor, sweating profusely, completely paralyzed by his ruined reality.
"Julian! Do something!" Chloe shrieked.
"Take it off, Chloe," Julian whispered hoarsely, defeated.
"Are you serious?!" Chloe screamed, her face turning red. "You told me you owned this place! You told me she was a nobody!"
"He lied to you, sweetheart," I said, a cruel pity in my voice. "He's not a billionaire. He's a glorified middle manager who just got fired. He has nothing. Which means he has nothing to give you."
The realization hit Chloe like a freight train. She wasn't standing next to a king; she had tied herself to a sinking ship. Trembling, she shrugged out of the cashmere coat, letting it fall to the floor. Then, with shaking fingers, she unclasped my grandmother's emerald necklace and handed it to Mr. Hayes.
"Good," I said, taking the necklace from the security chief and fastening it around my own neck. The cool metal felt like a reclamation of my soul. "Now, both of you have exactly ten minutes to pack your personal belongings. Anything purchased with company funds stays."
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"Elena, please," Julian begged, falling to his knees. The great Julian Sterling, reduced to a weeping mess on the carpet. "I made a mistake. A massive mistake. I was stressed. She meant nothing to me! Please, don't take my life's work away from me!"
"It was never your life's work, Julian," I said, looking down at him with absolute zero empathy. "It was mine. You were just the face."
