“Enough!” he barked, slamming his hand on the tablecloth. The silverware jumped. “Stop acting, Elara! You’ve had your fun. You embarrassed me. Now sign the papers with Arthur so I can go home.”
Arthur looked up, unimpressed. “Julian, we are discussing the Asian market expansion. Do you mind?”
“She doesn’t know anything about Asian markets!” Julian spat, pointing a shaking finger at me. “She sits at home planting hydrangeas! I built this company! I worked eighteen-hour days!”
I set my wine glass down. The soft clink was louder than his shouting.
“Eighteen-hour days?” I asked quietly. “Let’s be accurate, Julian. You spent four hours in the office, three hours at lunch, two hours at the gym, and the rest entertaining ‘clients’ like Isabella.”
“That’s a lie!”
I picked up a small remote control from the table and pointed it at the massive screen behind the stage—the one reserved for his keynote speech.
“Shall we look at the data?”
The screen lit up. It didn’t show his powerpoint on synergy. It showed bank transfers.
“These,” I narrated, my voice crisp, “are unauthorized withdrawals from the R&D fund. Millions transferred to an offshore account in the Cayman Islands. One million spent on ‘consulting fees’ to a shell company owned by Ms. Ricci.”
The crowd gasped. Embezzlement. It was the death knell of a career.
Then the screen changed. A video played. It was grainy security footage from the Ritz-Carlton executive lounge, dated three weeks prior.
Julian’s voice filled the hall, clear and damning.
“I don’t care about safety protocols. Ignore the engineers. If the battery explodes, we’ll blame the supplier. I need the stock to hit $400 before the gala so I can cash out and divorce her. She’s dead weight. As long as I get my bonus, let the phones melt.”
The silence in the room was absolute. It was the silence of a tomb.
Arthur Sterling rose slowly. His face was a mask of fury. “You were going to let them burn?” he whispered. “My granddaughter uses a Thorn phone. You were going to let it explode in her hands for a quarterly bonus?”
“Arthur, wait—that’s out of context!” Julian stammered, backing away, his hands raised in surrender. “It was locker room talk! A joke!”
“Security!” Arthur roared. “Get this criminal out of my sight!”
Two uniformed guards stepped forward, but I raised a hand. They froze.
“Not yet,” I said.
I stood up and circled the table. The train of my dress followed me like a shadow. I stopped in front of Julian. He was trembling, sweat ruining his makeup, his eyes darting around the room looking for an exit that didn’t exist.
“You called me hysterical,” I said softly. “You told the press I was fragile. But look at the facts. I saved the company you tried to gut. I protected the customers you viewed as collateral damage.”
“Please…” Julian’s voice cracked. He lunged for my hand, desperation making him bold. “Elara, sweetheart, listen. I was drunk. The stress… it broke me. You know me. I’m your husband. Remember our vows? Remember the cabin?”
He dropped to his knees, clutching the fabric of my dress. A pathetic, weeping ruin of a man.
“I’ll fix it. I’ll fire Isabella. Just don’t let them take me. I love you, Elara. I always have!”
I looked down at him. For a split second, a memory flickered—the man who promised to protect me. But that man was dead. He had died the moment he deleted my name.
Gently, I peeled his fingers off my dress.
“You don’t love me, Julian,” I said, my voice heavy with a final, crushing sadness. “You love the safety net I provided. But you cut the net.”
I turned to Sebastian. “Mr. Vane. Remove him.”
Sebastian grabbed Julian’s arm.
“No! I’m the CEO! You work for me!” Julian screamed, thrashing as he was dragged toward the doors. “Elara! I own fifty-one percent!”
I picked up the microphone.
“Actually, Julian—Clause 14, Section B. In cases of gross negligence, the principal investor reserves the right to invoke the ‘Clean Slate Protocol.’”
“The what?” he yelled, digging his heels into the carpet.
“Sebastian,” I ordered. “Execute.”
At that moment, Julian’s phone began to vibrate violently. He yanked it out.