Chapter 4 - The Public Humiliation
The climax of their downfall came three days later at the city's annual Summer Gala—the same place where Patricia had been humiliated. I didn't hide. I walked through those front doors wearing a custom gown that screamed elegance, escorted by Marcus.
The room went silent. Harrison was there, looking thin and desperate. When he saw me, he broke through the crowd, not with a threat this time, but with a plea.
"Claire, please," he whispered, grabbing my hand. "The banks have frozen everything. I’m being sued by the partners. My mother is being evicted from the condo. You have to call them off. You’re my wife!"
I pulled my hand away as if I had touched something toxic. "We aren't married, Harrison. And you aren't the man you pretended to be. You’re a man who relied on a woman he hated to pay for his lifestyle."
Patricia pushed through the crowd, her face twisted. "You selfish girl! You ruined us! We gave you a name! We gave you a place in this society!"
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"You gave me a cage," I said, my voice projecting across the silent ballroom. "And I’ve just finished unlocking the door."
At that moment, federal agents entered the ballroom. They didn't walk toward me. They walked straight to Harrison. The sight of his polished, arrogant face crumbling into genuine, whimpering terror as the cuffs clicked onto his wrists was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
