Chapter 6 - The Crushing of Vance Enterprises
The next morning, Liam stormed into the Vanguard headquarters, bypassing security through sheer desperation. He burst into my top-floor office, his tie askew, his eyes bloodshot.
"Who are you?!" he demanded, slamming his hands onto my mahogany desk. "Are you Clara? Did you survive? Answer me!"
I didn't look up from my tablet. "Security is on their way up, Mr. Vance. You have two minutes before you are thrown out of this building."
"Clara, please!" he begged, his voice cracking. It was the first time I had ever heard him beg. In our marriage, I was always the petitioner, always the one asking for a scrap of his time. "Khloe is sick again. Her body is showing early signs of chronic rejection. If Vanguard liquidates my assets, I won't be able to afford her specialized treatments from Switzerland. If you have any mercy—if you are the Clara who loved me—don't do this."
I slowly looked up, my silver-grey eyes pinning him to the spot. "The Clara who loved you died the moment you signed her life away to save your mistress. She died while you refused to hold her hand because Khloe was 'terrified of anesthesia.' Do you remember those words, Liam?"
He stumbled back, the final confirmation hitting him like a physical blow. "It is you... You're alive. How... whose heart...?"
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"That is none of your business," I said, standing up. I walked around the desk, standing tall, completely eclipsing his broken posture. "You stole my legal organ, expecting me to turn into ash. Instead, I became steel. Your forty-eight hours began yesterday. I suggest you start packing your office."
By Friday afternoon, Vance Enterprises declared bankruptcy. Vanguard Holdings swooped in, purchasing the company for pennies on the dollar. I fired Liam's loyal board members, dismantled his executive privileges, and rebranded the shipping lines under the Stirling name. In less than a week, I had stripped him of the legacy he had spent his life building.
