Chapter 5 - The Mistress's BetrayalThe next morning, the fallout reached its violent crescendo. I sat in a sleek glass café across the street from Vance Global headquarters, watching the chaos unfold. Media vans were swarming the entrance, microphones thrust out toward anyone wearing a suit.
My phone buzzed on the table. It was an unknown number, but I already knew who it was. I swiped and answered.
"Elena! Please, you have to help me!" Chloe’s voice shrieked through the speaker, frantic, sobbing, and completely stripped of the haughty arrogance she used to flash me in corporate emails. "Julian lied to me! He told me his wife was a helpless pushover, that you guys were getting divorced, that the company money was entirely his to spend!"
I took a slow sip of my black coffee, looking out at the rain slicking the pavement. "Is that what he told you, Chloe? How romantic."
"The police are at my apartment!" she sobbed hysterically. "They’re seizing my car, my bags, the jewelry! They're saying it’s federal wire fraud! They’re threatening to arrest me! Julian won't answer my calls, he blocked my number! Please, Elena, you’re a reasonable woman, tell them it was a misunderstanding!"
"A misunderstanding?" I repeated, my voice dropping an octave into a freezing register. "You slept with my husband in my bed, Chloe. You mocked my intelligence in corporate chat rooms that my IT department so kindly forwarded to me. And you helped him loot millions of dollars from accounts bearing my name."
"I have information!" Chloe shrieked, desperation overriding her tears. "I have proof! Julian was planning to stash millions in an offshore account in the Caymans next month! He was going to leave you penniless once the merger finalized! I can give you the account numbers, the passwords, everything! Just save me from prison!"
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I paused, letting a slow smile spread across my face. "Send the documents to my legal counsel within the hour, Chloe. If they check out... well, maybe the prosecutor will recommend a lighter sentence. If they don't... enjoy orange for the next ten years."
I hung up without waiting for her reply. The rats were eating each other alive. Exactly as planned.
