The night air was sharp, biting against the lingering dampness of balsamic dressing on Elena’s skin. As she stepped past the grand iron gates of the Vance estate, she didn’t look back. She didn’t need to. Behind her, inside the cavernous marble dining room, the silence was still deafening—broken only by the dripping of red wine from her husband Julian’s ruined suit and the hysterical gasps of his mother, Victoria Vance.

Deprived of his home, his money, and his reputation, Julian had only one place left to run: the luxury high-rise apartment he had secretly purchased for his mistress, Chloe Bennett.

Chloe was a former model who had spent the last year convincing Julian that Elena was a boring, worthless anchor dragging him down. She was the one who had encouraged him to be cruel to Elena, feeding his ego and telling him he deserved a "real high-society woman" by his side.

Julian slammed open the door to Chloe's apartment, panting heavily, covered in sweat. Victoria was limping behind him, carrying two hastily packed trash bags full of clothes.

"Chloe!" Julian yelled out. "Chloe, baby! Open the safe! We need to take the emergency cash and the gold bars I gave you. We have to leave the country tonight!"

Chloe walked out of the master bedroom. But she wasn't dressed in silk pajamas, nor was she running to comfort him.

She was wearing a trench coat, holding two massive designer suitcases, and on her arm was a man Julian recognized instantly—Dominic Vance, Julian’s bitter, estranged cousin who had been kicked out of the family business five years prior.

Julian froze. "Chloe? What... what is this? Why is Dominic here?"

Chloe looked at Julian with an expression of pure, unadulterated contempt. She pulled off a massive sapphire ring Julian had bought her using Vance Global's expense account and tossed it carelessly onto the glass coffee table.

"It means it's over, Julian," Chloe said flatly.

"Over?!" Julian roared, stepping forward. "I bought you this apartment! I bought you those bags! I gave you everything while my marriage was falling apart!"

"You didn't give me anything," Chloe sneered, stepping closer to Dominic, who offered a smug, victorious grin. "You were using me to feel like a big man because deep down, you knew you were a pathetic loser riding on your family's dying coattails. Did you really think I loved you? I was waiting for you to collapse so I could get paid."

"Paid by who?!" Victoria shrieked, clutching her trash bag. "You ungrateful little whore!"

Dominic stepped forward, pulling a legal document from his jacket. "Paid by me, Aunt Victoria. Or rather, paid by Apex Titan."

Julian’s breath caught in his throat. "What?"

"Elena contacted me six months ago," Dominic said, tossing a signed contract onto the counter. "She knew Julian was embezzling funds to support Chloe. She paid Chloe a million dollars to keep Julian distracted, keep him arrogant, and keep him making stupid financial mistakes while Elena quietly bought up your company's debt."

Julian looked at Chloe in utter horror. "You... you were working for Elena the whole time?"

"Elena paid cash, Julian," Chloe chuckled, putting on her sunglasses. "You paid with bounced checks and broken promises. It wasn't hard to choose. Now, if you'll excuse us, Dominic and I have a flight to catch to Monaco. Oh, and by the way? The landlord just served an eviction notice for this apartment too. You have thirty minutes."