Chapter 5 - The Midnight VisitorAt 11:45 p.m., a soft chime echoed through my penthouse.
It wasn't the doorbell. It was the private security alert for the elevator lobby on the 48th floor.
I paused, setting down the book I had been reading. The Vantage was notoriously secure; unauthorized visitors couldn't even reach the lobby without a master keycard encoded by building management, and my floor required a biometric iris scan.
I walked quietly down the hallway toward the private foyer, my bare feet silent against the hardwood floor. Through the frosted glass of the double doors, I could see a silhouette standing motionless in the dim light of the hallway.
A hand reached out and tapped twice against the glass. Soft. Hesitant.
I reached out and clicked the security intercom. “Who is it?”
“Vivian... please. Open the door.”
It was Julian.
He didn't sound arrogant anymore. He didn't sound angry. His voice was cracked, desperate, and trembling, sounding like a man who had finally realized he had walked off the edge of a cliff and was staring down into an endless abyss.
I pressed the button to unlock the inner security latch, but I didn't open the door wide. I pulled it back just enough for him to see my face.
Julian looked twenty years older than he had that morning. His hair was disheveled, his designer suit jacket was rumpled, and his eyes were bloodshot and hollow. He looked like a man who had spent the last twelve hours running from a ghost only to realize the ghost was standing right behind him.
“How did you get up here?” I asked coldly.
“I... I bribed the night manager,” he whispered, his voice shaking. He looked down at the floor, unable to meet my eyes. “Vivian, everything is gone. They repossessed the cars an hour ago. The bank froze my personal checking accounts. Mom had a panic attack—she’s at the hospital right now. And... and Elena packed her bags and left the second she realized the credit cards weren't working.”
I didn't feel a single ounce of pity. Not one drop.
“Karma is a very efficient system, Julian,” I said quietly. “You wanted a clean break. You handed me divorce papers. All I did was make sure your wish came true.”
Julian dropped to his knees right there in the hallway outside my penthouse door, pressing his forehead against the cool marble threshold.
“I was an idiot,” he sobbed, his shoulders shaking. “I was arrogant, I was stupid, I was blind. But we’re husband and wife, Vivian. Please. I’ll sign whatever you want. I’ll give you total control of the company. Just... please don’t ruin my family completely. Please.”
I looked down at him—the man who had stood in my kitchen twelve hours ago with a smirk on his face, watching his family pack up my life like trash.
“Julian,” I said, my voice cutting through his sobs like a razor blade. “When you stood in my kitchen this morning and told me I was useless to you... did you ever stop to think that the only reason you were ever anything at all was because I was holding you up?”
He froze, his breath catching in his throat.
May you like
“Get off my floor, Julian,” I continued smoothly. “The divorce papers are in my bag. I’ll have my lawyer email you the finalized settlement terms in the morning. Don't ever come near me again.”
With a slow, deliberate click, I closed the heavy wooden door, threw the deadbolt, and listened as the soft sound of his crying faded into the quiet hum of the night.
