Chapter 6 - The Trap Snaps Shut
Confusion washed over the Vales.
"Landlord? What are you talking about?" Celeste demanded, stepping in front of her son.
I signaled Naomi. She walked to the audiovisual technician's booth. A moment later, the massive digital screens that had been projecting the Vale corporate logo flickered and changed.
A massive, legally binding document appeared on the screens. The deed to the Vale family estate. The deed to the Vale Development corporate headquarters.
"Who do you think bailed you out three years ago, Victor?" I asked, my voice echoing through the museum's sound system. "Who do you think owned Apex Equity?"
Victor stared at the screen, his eyes reading the signature at the bottom of the deed.
Controlling Beneficiary: Mara Ashford.
"Ashford..." Victor choked out, his knees buckling slightly. "The Ashford Trust? You... you are..."
"The girl with nothing," I finished for him, quoting his own insult. "The plain, boring wife. You thought you were using me to look respectable. You never realized I was the only thing keeping you solvent."
Adrian stepped forward, his fists clenched, his face twisted in a mixture of fear and rage. "You bitch! You set this up! You froze my accounts!"
"You did that to yourself, Adrian. You breached the morality clause of your company's loans. Which brings us to the real entertainment of the evening."
I nodded to Naomi again.
The screens changed. The financial documents vanished, replaced by high-definition video.
The baby shower.
The entire gala went dead silent as the video played. They saw the beautiful room. They saw Sienna walk in. And then, in crystal clear audio, they heard Adrian.
"She's carrying the real heir."
They watched, horrified, as Adrian shoved his heavily pregnant wife. They watched me crash into the table. The gasps from the high-society crowd were deafening. Several women covered their mouths.
But the worst part wasn't the violence. It was the aftermath.
The video clearly showed Celeste and Victor Vale raising their champagne glasses. Applauding.
"Stop it! Turn it off!" Adrian screamed, running toward the AV booth.
But it was too late. The final audio played over the speakers, cold and damning.
"Sign the divorce papers tonight. Or next time, I won’t miss."
May you like
The Mayor, who had been chatting with Victor minutes before, turned away in utter disgust. The investors, the bankers, the socialites—they all backed away from the Vale family as if they were infected with a plague.
"You're ruined," I said softly to Adrian, who stood frozen in the center of the room. "The divorce papers you forced me to sign? They relinquished my claim to your assets. But they also severed your legal protection from my company's debt collection. I took everything, Adrian. The house. The cars. The company. You have exactly what you deserve."
