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Judge Beckett gestured quietly toward the bailiff, who brought two small chairs to the side of the bench where Nolan and Parker could sit safely out of the fray. The boys gripped their juice boxes, watching their father with wide, uncertain eyes. Gavin didn’t look at them; his gaze was fixed on the beige folder resting beneath the judge’s right hand. / Chapter 13 / 20

Chapter 13 - Sloane’s Return

The assault on Vance Mobility did not stop at financial markets. The next morning, Sloane Pierce made her dramatic return to the public stage.

She appeared on a prime-time national business news program as the newly hired Executive Vice President of Global Communications for Sterling Apex. She carried a thick silver binder, claiming it contained "undeniable proof" that Cassandra had stolen the foundation algorithm from an open-source university research project while under contract at another firm fifteen years prior.

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She sl@pped my 66-year-old mother across the face, called her ""the maid,"" and proudly told everyone the house belonged to her. She had no idea I was the real owner—and by the end of that dinner, her perfect little lie would explode in front of every guest.

She sl@pped my 66-year-old mother across the face, called her ""the maid...

I did not scream. I did not hurl insults, smash crystal, or offer Evelyn Bennett the spectacle she so desperately craved.

I did not scream. I did not hurl insults, smash crystal, or offer Evelyn...

The door to the guest room locked with a quiet, satisfying click. Outside, the muffled sounds of Derek shouting about the ruined risotto faded into the background, drowned out by the thunderous beat of my own heart.

The door to the guest room locked with a quiet, satisfying click. Outsid...

"Cassandra Bellamy is not a genius founder," Sloane lied seamlessly to millions of viewers, holding up fabricated documents. "She is a corporate spy who betrayed her academic partners and used her marriage to Gavin as a shield. Sterling Apex is filing a landmark copyright lawsuit to freeze Vance Mobility's core patents globally."

Within three hours of the broadcast, Vance Mobility’s stock dropped by eighteen percent. Panic swept through the board of directors. Panic, however, was a luxury Cassandra had never allowed herself.

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