Chapter 3
Charles choked on her words, his chest rising and falling with barely contained rage.
He dropped his voice, sounding secretive, like he was about to cut a shady deal.
"Claire, if you admit guilt now, I'll pull some strings and make sure you just get probation," he said.
He pulled a check out of his pocket and slid it across the table toward her.
"3 million dollars. Just take the blame for everything, and it's yours. You'll never have to worry about money again."
He was still trying to bribe her, using cash and empty promises to insult her, to buy her off.
Claire stared at the check, and suddenly, a laugh burst out of her.
She kept laughing, but then, out of nowhere, tears rolled down her face.
"Charles, in your eyes, is my five years of marriage, everything I've given, really only worth 3 million dollars?" Claire said, her voice trembling, every word raw with pain.
This was the final break between them, the wound he'd ripped open, and now he was grinding salt into it.
Charles's eyes flashed with anger at the tears and hatred in her eyes.
He snatched the check back, whipped out his phone, and shoved a video right in Claire's face.
On the screen, a little orange-and-white kitten was locked up in a tiny cage.
It looked half-dead, not even strong enough to make a sound.
That was the stray they'd rescued together on a rainy night; Claire had named it Muffin.
It was one of the few happy memories they still shared.
And now, he was using that memory as a weapon, just to hurt her.
Charles's eyes turned vicious, like a snake flicking its tongue, full of poison.
"Every day you stay in there, I'll rip out one of its claws," he said, his voice cold as ice, utterly devoid of feeling. "How long do you think it'll last?"
In that moment, Charles's humanity was gone; he'd crossed every boundary, leaving readers reeling in shock.
Claire's whole body started shaking, completely out of her control.
She locked her gaze on those innocent, weak eyes on the screen, her heart feeling like it was being ripped apart.
She looked up at Charles, her beautiful eyes burning with hatred.
'You monster!' Claire screamed in her mind.
Her silent scream echoed in her mind.
Her hatred maxed out right then and there.
Charles watched her, satisfied with how she broke.
He thought he'd finally found her weakness and taken back control.
"Give me your answer by tomorrow," he said.
He stood up, towering over her as he delivered his ultimatum, then turned and strode out.
His smug sense of control was just setting him up for an even more humiliating fall.
After Charles left, Claire sat alone in the meeting room for a long time.
She gradually pulled herself together; all traces of vulnerability and pain faded from her face, replaced by a steely determination.
She picked up the internal phone and called her lawyer, Emily.
"Emmy, I need you to reach out to someone for me. He's the best private investigator in the city, goes by the name Hawk," she said. "And also, it's time to activate Plan B."
*****
Lily walked into the meeting room, dressed in the latest Chanel suit and sporting a flawless, polished makeup look.
She carried a high-end fruit basket, her face plastered with a fake, concerned expression.
"Claire, I never thought something like this would happen. You must be going through a lot here," she said.
She set the fruit basket down on the table, her tone soft and delicate.
"Charles has been so worried about you, running around everywhere. He hasn't slept in days," she added.
Every single word was pure flex.
She was showing off her freedom on the outside, and pretending Charles was all worried about her.
It was a classic green tea girl move.
Claire barely glanced at the fruit basket, her expression indifferent.
On top were a few big, golden mangoes.
She smirked, "Wow, Ms. White, that's so thoughtful. You even remembered I'm allergic to mangoes, my least favorite fruit."
Her words were like a needle, light, but sharp enough to pierce right through Lily's fake mask.
Lily's expression stiffened for a moment, but she quickly pulled herself together.
She pulled out a chair and sat down, ready to hit Claire where it hurt with her words.
"Claire, don't be too hard on Charles. He's just doing what's best for the company and for all of us," Lily said.
She put on a sympathetic face, acting like she had the moral high ground, making it seem like Claire's sacrifice was noble and for everyone's benefit.
"You used to be a star lawyer, so you know how it goes. Someone has to make sacrifices to keep things together," she added.
As she talked, she acted like she just remembered something and let it slip on purpose.
"Oh, by the way, Claire, Charles was worried you might get all sentimental when you got out, so he had the master bedroom in your old villa completely redone," Lily said.
She covered her mouth, pretending to be surprised.
"Oops, almost forgot; the new decor is totally my favorite, that dreamy French romantic style. Charles even said you should stay in the guest room for a while, you know, for your health," she added.
She was waltzing right into Claire's home, acting like she was the new lady of the house.
For a wife, it was a cruel insult, a real blow to Claire's dignity.
Claire watched Lily's little performance, not the least bit angry. Instead, she gave her a look that was almost pitying.
"You know what, Lily?" Claire said.
Those words made Lily's heart suddenly skip a beat.
"Ever heard of a crime called 'attempted embezzlement'? Or maybe 'obstruction of justice'?" Claire continued.
Claire's sudden mention of legal charges threw Lily off completely, her fake smile freezing mid-expression.
Claire didn't even give her a second to recover.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny recorder, something Emily had managed to smuggle in for her through some special channels.
She hit play, letting the recording fill the room.
Lily's voice blasted out of the recorder, frantic and panicked. "Hurry up! Wipe all those gigs of raw data from the server, right now. Not a single trace, you hear me.
"That woman wants to dig around? Dream on! Let her stay locked up forever."
Claire was actually holding a direct recording of Lily giving the order to destroy the key evidence, proof, clear as day, right in her hands.
Lily's face went ghostly pale in an instant.
She stared at Claire, completely panicked, her lips trembling so hard she couldn't even form a word.
"How how do you have this?" she finally managed to stammer.
Her precious mask, the one she took so much pride in, was shattered in just a few seconds of that recording.
Claire switched off the recorder and, with deliberate calm, slipped it back into her pocket.
She leaned forward slightly, her eyes like icy blades, fixing Lily with a lethal gaze.
"Now, let's talk terms," Claire said.
Her voice was cold and ruthless. "Are you going to turn yourself in, or should I personally escort you to the cops?"
In that instant, the tables were turned.
Claire was now in complete control.
Lily let out a scream like she'd just seen a ghost, shot up from her chair, and bolted out of the room in a panic.
The security camera at the door caught every second of her meltdown, her panic and humiliation on full display.
Claire watched her retreating figure, then slowly dialed Emily's number.
"Emmy, you can submit the supplementary evidence for bail to the prosecutor's office now," she said.