My husband beat me with a heavy leather belt just to impress his arrogant mistress. Covered in bruises, I pulled out my phone to call my dad. My husband snatched it, put it on speaker, and laughed. “Let’s tell your pathetic, broke mechanic father how worthless you are,” he mocked. The line connected. But the deep, booming voice that answered wasn’t a poor mechanic. My father said one sentence and hung up the phone. And exactly five minutes later, they begged for forgiveness.

“The venture capital that miraculously saved your logistics firm from bankruptcy three years ago?” Winston continued, his words falling like heavy stones, crushing Julian’s ego into dust. “Her money. The board members who suddenly approved your elevation to CEO? Her father’s employees. You are not a self-made titan, Julian. You are a poorly performing, highly subsidized investment that has just been liquidated with extreme prejudice. You own nothing.”

Chloe, who had been listening in horrified silence, suddenly realized she had attached herself to a sinking ship. The parasitic survival instinct kicked in immediately.

She pushed away from the bar, backing away from Julian as if he were highly contagious. She clutched her silk-covered stomach and looked frantically at Winston, tears streaming down her face.

“Wait! Please!” Chloe begged, her voice shrill. “I didn’t know! He lied to me! I thought he was rich! You can’t throw me out on the street, I’m pregnant with his child! The stress is going to hurt the baby!”

Winston Hayes looked at Chloe with an expression of profound, clinical disgust. He didn’t answer her. He turned his gaze to me.

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