Chapter 2

June 15th, 8:00 PM. The penthouse restaurant at the St. Regis.

Julian had reserved the entire private terrace—originally intended as a grand romantic dinner before the wedding. Now, it had transformed into a sterile, tense battleground.

Victoria arrived right on time. She wore a sharp, tailored black skirt suit and carried a sleek black calfskin briefcase.

At the dining table, alongside an ashen-faced Julian, sat a pale woman clad in a delicate white silk dress—Chloe Bennett.

Chloe's eyes were swollen and red. Seeing Victoria approach, she immediately rose to her feet in a trembling show of weakness, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Victoria, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. Julian was just worried about my depression. Please don't blame him.”

Victoria didn't spare her a single glance.

She pulled out the chair opposite Julian, sat down with absolute composure, and laid the leather briefcase flat on the center of the table.

"Ms. Vance, may I take your order?” the waiter asked respectfully.

"No need. This will take less than sixty seconds,” Victoria said softly.

Julian lowered his voice, suppressing a burning rage. "Victoria, do you really have to make such a public spectacle? Chloe literally checked out of the hospital early just to apologize to you. Where are your manners?”

"Manners are reserved for respectable human beings, not corporate scammers and emotional parasites,” Victoria replied, her tone as detached.

"You—” Julian gritted his teeth.

Tears spilled from Chloe's eyes right on cue, her fragile frame swaying as if she might faint.

"Victoria, if you're that angry, I'll repay the medical fees. Even though I just got back to the country and my art gallery isn't profitable yet, I'll borrow money to pay you back, I swear.”

This ‘frail victim' act had worked on Julian a thousand times over.

Predictably, Julian wrapped a protective arm around Chloe's shoulder, glaring at Victoria.

"Victoria, you forcing a mentally fragile patient to go into debt, do you have a shred of humanity left. Forty-five grand is pocket change to me! I can wire it back to you tomorrow night.”

"Forty-five thousand dollars is indeed pocket change.” Victoria reached into her briefcase, pulled out the first legal document, and slid it across the table toward Julian.

"This is the itemized statement of all personal loans and corporate credit guarantees I've executed on your behalf over the past three years under the guise of ‘joint pre-marital investment.' Total principal due: $23.6 million.”

Julian's expression turned deathly pale in an instant. "Why are you pulling this out now?! That was a joint commercial venture between our families.”

"No. They were legally structured loans and personal guarantees.” Victoria said, her long fingers tapping lightly on the summary page.

"I've already submitted an Emergency Revocation Notice to our partner bank. Their risk management department launched a formal risk assessment on Sterling Asset Management half an hour ago. By tomorrow morning before the market opens, your credit lines will be forcibly frozen”

Before Julian could even react, Victoria then pulled out a second document and tossed it directly in front of the trembling Chloe.

"Ms. Bennett, this is a certified notarized dossier containing full digital forensic evidence of the burner accounts you used last week to spread defamatory statements online regarding ‘a high-powered female attorney abusing authority.' My litigation team has completed evidence collection, and a formal lawsuit has been submitted to the District Court.”

Victoria looked down at her with cold indifference.

"Defamation plus intentional infliction of emotional distress. Damages claimed: $500,000. Save your tears, Chloe. You can explain to the judge whether your clinical depression legally excuses malicious libel.”

Chloe gasped, clutching Julian's arm violently. "Julian, I didn't. I was just venting online.”

"Victoria, you're insane, you're destroying her.” Julian bellowed.

Victoria slowly stood up, buttoning her suit jacket, looking down at the two of them.

"I'm not destroying anyone. I'm simply balancing the books.”

With that, she turned on her heel, the crisp rhythm of her stiletto heels echoing across the marble floor as she made a flawless exit.