Chapter 5 - The Aftermath at the Estate
The fallout was instantaneous and catastrophic for the woman who had thought she was about to inherit an empire.
Within thirty minutes, the grand ballroom had emptied of guests, leaving behind a trail of hushed, scandalized chatter that would undoubtedly dominate the city’s social pages for months. Victoria sat collapsed on one of the gilded chairs, her beautiful gown crumpled around her, surrounded by her mother and father, who were screaming at each other in hushed, furious tones.
David Sterling walked over to where I stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the long line of black cars pulling out of my driveway.
"The marriage license was never executed," David confirmed, handing me a glass of neat bourbon. "Legally, she has no claim to a single dime. Furthermore, based on the financial transactions we uncovered during her call with Richard, I’ve already had my investigators look into her personal accounts."
I took a sip of the warm liquor, feeling the icy burn settle in my chest. "What did you find?"
"Victoria isn't just a fortune hunter, Julian," David said grimly. "She’s heavily in debt. Her family’s real estate firm went bankrupt two years ago. Richard is her ex-fiancé and business partner. They've been running a corporate extortion scheme in New York before she moved here and targeted you."
I squeezed the heavy crystal glass until my knuckles turned white. "She wanted to bleed me dry to pay off her family's debts."
"Exactly," David nodded. "And it gets worse. Richard was planning to use confidential Sterling Developments documents—documents Victoria had already begun copying from your home office—to short our stock ahead of the European Consortium announcement next week."
A cold rage washed over me. I turned around to face Victoria, who was now being escorted out of the ballroom by two of David’s grey-suited security guards.
She saw me watching her and broke away from the guards, marching toward me with a face twisted by pure venom. Gone was the gentle, soft-spoken woman I had held in my arms for the past year. In her place stood a desperate, cornered predator.
"You think you won, Julian?!" she spat, her voice ringing harshly against the marble walls. "You think you can just humiliate me in front of everyone and walk away?! I gave you nine months of my life! I played nice with your pathetic, crying baby! I listened to you whine about your dead wife!"
My mother stepped forward, her eyes flashing with a fierce, protective fury. "Don't you dare mention Clara, you vile girl!"
"Shut up, old woman!" Victoria snapped, turning back to me with a sneer. "I’m going to sue you for breach of promise, public humiliation, and emotional distress! My lawyers will drag your name and your company through every court in this state until you pay me to go away!"
I didn't blink. I stepped forward, towering over her, my shadow swallowing her completely.
"Try it," I said smoothly. "Because while you were standing at that altar, David filed a formal complaint with the State Attorney General’s Office for attempted corporate espionage, fraud, and conspiracy."
Victoria’s breath hitched.
May you like
"Every gift I gave you, every dollar I transferred to your accounts under the guise of wedding expenses, is now frozen as evidence in a criminal investigation," I continued, leaning down to her eye level. "You wanted my company, Victoria? Now you get to deal with my legal team. And trust me, they aren't nearly as generous as I was."
She stared at me, the blood draining from her face as the true weight of her ruin finally crushed her. The security guards grabbed her firmly by the arms, turning her around and marching her toward the exit, her mother sobbing hysterically behind her.
