Chapter 6 - The Encounter at the EntranceTwo weeks later, the crisp autumn wind swept through the courtyard of Saint Aurelia Medical Center as I stepped out for my first breath of fresh air since the delivery.
I wore a brand-new ivory cashmere coat—custom-designed, identical to the one Natalie had ruined, except the lining was stitched with solid gold thread reading Aurelia & Chloe.
Flanked by two security guards, I walked toward my waiting armored sedan.
That was when I saw him.
Hunched over against the cold, wearing a cheap, stained polyester jacket that was two sizes too small, Dominic stood by the security gates. His hair was unwashed, his face unshaven, and the arrogant, gleaming confidence that had once defined him was completely gone, replaced by a hollow, desperate despair.
He spotted me instantly.
For a moment, he froze. Then, driven by pure desperation, he broke past the outer perimeter, dodging a security guard before falling to his knees right in front of my path.
"Audrey!" he sobbed, his hands clutching desperately at the hem of my trousers. "Audrey, please! Have mercy! I'm starving. They evicted me from my motel. The creditors are threatening to break my legs. Please, just five thousand dollars—just enough to get back on my feet!"
The two security guards instantly moved in, grabbing Dominic by his shoulders and hauling him back onto his feet with rough efficiency.
"Get your hands off me!" Dominic screamed, thrashing wildly before locking his tear-filled eyes on mine. "Audrey, remember the vows! Remember the three years we spent together! We loved each other!"
I stopped. I turned around slowly, looking down at the man who had stood in the NICU holding divorce papers, smiling as he thought he had destroyed my life.
"You asked me what I had, Dominic," I said, my voice carrying clearly over the wind. "You said I had no parents, no family, no job, no money."
Dominic shook his head frantically, his lower lip trembling. "I was wrong! I was a fool! I was manipulated by Natalie—she cast a spell on me, she ruined my mind!"
"No, Dominic," I replied coldly, adjusting the collar of my cashmere coat. "You didn't miscalculate my wealth. You miscalculated my character. You thought kindness was weakness, and that silence was submission."
I motioned to Chief Thomas Vance, who stepped forward holding a single sheet of paper.
"What is that?" Dominic whimpered, staring at the paper.
"That," Thomas said, his voice flat and expressionless, "is an official employment offer from Aurelia-Chloe Therapeutics."
Dominic’s eyes lit up with a pathetic, desperate spark of hope. "A job? You're giving me a job? Thank you, Audrey, thank you—I'll do anything, I'll work seventy hours a week—"
"Let me finish," Thomas interrupted dryly. "It's an entry-level position as a biomedical waste disposal technician at our regional incineration plant in the industrial district. Night shift. Minimum wage. All earnings are automatically garnished by Sterling Holdings to pay off your multi-million-dollar corporate fraud debt and legal fees."
May you like
Dominic stared at the paper as if it were a death sentence. "Night shift? Waste disposal? Audrey, you can't do this to me! I have a university degree! I ran my own company!"
"You ran my company into the ground," I said quietly, turning my back to him and stepping toward the car door. "Take the job, Dominic. Or don't. Either way, every single penny you ever earn for the rest of your life will belong to the Sterlings."
