Chapter 5 - Behind the Velvet CurtainThe VIP lounge was furnished with plush leather sofas, crystal decanters of aged scotch, and a wall-mounted monitor flashing red stock tickers.
Daniel was standing by the window, tearing off his silk bow tie and tossing it onto a glass coffee table. When the door clicked open, he spun around, expecting Madeline or Julian.
When he saw it was me, his shoulders slumped, though a defensive, arrogant smirk quickly flickered back onto his face.
"Claire," he said smoothly, adjusting his collar. "I suppose you’re here to congratulate me on the drama your son just caused."
I crossed the room in three rapid strides and slapped him across the face so hard the sound cracked like a whip through the quiet lounge.
Daniel staggered back against the window sill, clutching his cheek, his eyes wide with shock. "Have you lost your mind?!"
"No, Daniel, I think I’ve finally found it," I snarled, stepping right into his personal space. "You invited me here tonight not to show off how far you've come, but to trap me. You used our son as bait to get me into this building so Julian could hand me a fabricated fraud liability waiver!"
Daniel stared at me, his chest heaving. For a second, he looked like a cornered animal, before his corporate armor slammed back into place.
"You don't know what you're talking about," he spat out, straightening his jacket. "The board found irregularities. If those filings go public, the company tanks. You were my wife; your name was on the foundational holding documents. It’s natural the auditors looked your way."
"You forged my signature, Daniel," I said, my voice shaking with a fury I had bottled up for six years. "You kept my administrative profile active in the system, and when your shady expansion deals started bleeding money, you needed a scapegoat. You thought the quiet single mother working a mid-level design job wouldn't fight back!"
Before Daniel could formulate a denial, the door swung open wide.
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Madeline stood in the doorway, her wedding dress sweeping the floor, her eyes blazing with absolute fury.
"He didn't just use you as a scapegoat, Claire," Madeline said, stepping into the room and tossing a heavy stack of printed emails onto the glass table. "He used me, too."
