Chapter 6 - Chloe’s House of Cards
With Julian sitting in a federal holding facility awaiting arraignment on charges of wire fraud, embezzlement, and conspiracy, the elaborate web of lies he had constructed began to unravel at lightning speed.
Chloe Mercer quickly discovered that turning over evidence didn’t grant immunity; it merely downgraded her sentence from maximum security to cooperation-based probation. Stripped of her high-end apartment, her luxury car, and her position at Vance Development, she found herself facing civil lawsuits from angry investors who had lost millions in the collapsed Harbor Point land scheme.
On Thursday morning, Chloe showed up uninvited at my attorney’s office while I was reviewing custody agreements.
Rebecca’s receptionist tried to turn her away, but I heard her voice echoing down the hallway.
“I just need to speak with Claire for five minutes! Please!” Chloe cried out, her voice desperate.
I stepped out into the hallway, looking down at the woman who had thought she could step into my life and take everything I had built. She looked small, defeated, and utterly hollow.
“There is nothing left to say, Chloe,” I said coldly, crossing my arms. “You made your bed when you decided to help Julian loot my son’s future.”
“I was stupid,” Chloe sobbed, wiping her face with the sleeve of an oversized sweater. “Julian promised me security. He promised me we’d take the money and start over in California. He told me you didn’t care about him anymore!”
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“Julian lied about everything to everyone, Chloe. That was his specialty,” I replied evenly. “The difference between you and me is that when things got hard, you chose to become an accomplice to theft. I chose to protect my child.”
She opened her mouth as if to beg for forgiveness or financial mercy, then closed it, realizing how grotesque that would sound. She turned and walked out of the office building into the gray Chicago drizzle, disappearing into the city streets that had chewed up both her and Julian’s ambitions.
