Chapter 4 - The Vane Family Ultimatum
By 1:30 PM, Ethan and Chloe found themselves standing on the wet, rain-slicked sidewalk outside the River Oaks estate, surrounded by three cardboard boxes containing their clothes and personal items, while Margaret sat sobbing inconsolably in an Uber that was idling by the curb, waiting to take her to a modest suburban hotel.
The heavy iron front gates of the estate clicked shut behind them with a definitive, mechanical lock.
“Ethan, how could you be so utterly stupid?!” Chloe shrieked, tears of rage streaking her makeup as she gestured wildly toward the cardboard boxes. “You told me you were a multi-million-dollar partner! You told me your family owned this entire zip code! My father’s import company in Austin is investing four million dollars into your division next month! If my father finds out you’re a penniless fraud who was living off his ex-wife’s charity, he will disown me!”
“Chloe, calm down! We can fix this!” Ethan stammered, pulling his damp jacket tighter around his shoulders. “My father-in-law is a businessman! I’ll pitch him a new logistics framework! We can launch a startup—!”
“With what money, Ethan?!” Chloe cut him off, her voice shrill and desperate. “Your corporate credit cards are frozen! Your car is gone! You don't even have a checking account that isn't tethered to Claire’s corporate payroll!”
Her phone buzzed violently in her hand.
Chloe glanced down at the screen, and the color drained completely from her face.
“It’s my father,” she whispered.
She answered the call with trembling fingers, putting it on speakerphone so Ethan could hear every devastating word.
“Chloe! What in God’s name is going on in Houston?!” Arthur Vance’s furious voice roared through the speaker, so loud the tinny audio distorted. “My financial auditors in Austin just flagged an emergency risk alert regarding Sterling Crest Group! They pulled the corporate registry and discovered that Ethan Sterling isn't an owner, isn't a partner, and was fired from his executive division this morning by order of Claire Sterling herself!”
“Daddy, please, let me explain—” Chloe sobbed.
“Explain what? That you let some pathetic deadbeat scam our family into believing he was a titan of industry?! The four million dollar seed injection is canceled! Our legal team is drafting a fraud complaint against Ethan as we speak! And if you know what’s good for you, Chloe, you will pack your bags and get on the next flight back to Austin before I cut you off completely!”
Click.
The dial tone hummed monotonously in the rainy air.
Chloe stared at her phone, her chest heaving, before she slowly turned her tear-streaked, venomous glare toward Ethan.
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“It’s over, Ethan,” she hissed, her voice trembling with pure hatred. “Stay away from me. Stay away from my baby. If you ever try to contact me again, I’ll make sure my father’s lawyers bury you so deep in federal prison you’ll never see daylight.”
Without another word, Chloe turned on her heel, flagged down a passing taxi, and climbed inside, slamming the door shut and leaving Ethan standing alone in the Houston downpour with three cardboard boxes and a shattered life.
