Chapter 8 - The Ruin of Richard Sterling
Richard doubled down on his arrogance, aggressively pulling Claire by the wrist toward the revolving doors. Claire shrieked in pain, her knees buckling.
Without a single moment of hesitation, Eleanor stepped forward and delivered a vicious, open-handed slap directly across Richard’s face.
The sharp crack echoed like a gunshot through the silent lobby.
Richard staggered backward, dropping Claire’s arm, his hand flying to his rapidly reddening cheek. "Security!" he roared furiously.
Instantly, four massive, heavily armed men in tactical suits materialized from the shadows—Eleanor’s personal security detail. They did not grab Eleanor. They instantly surrounded Richard, boxing him in.
"Do you have any idea who I am?!" Richard screamed at the guards. "I spend millions at Crawford properties! I am a VIP!"
Eleanor looked at him as if she had just stepped in something foul. "Name?" she demanded coldly.
"Richard Sterling. CEO of Sterling Urban Development."
Eleanor let out a dry, humorless, terrifying chuckle. "Sterling Urban Development."
She turned her head slightly to her chief of staff, who was already holding a tablet. "David. Call accounting. I want every single corporate account, vendor partnership, and lease agreement linked to Sterling Urban Development frozen. Immediately."
Richard’s face lost all color. "What?"
"Furthermore, call the banks. Revoke all lines of credit tied to the Crawford guarantor network," Eleanor continued flawlessly.
"You can't do that!" Richard screamed.
"I can do whatever I please," Eleanor replied, her eyes burning with lethal intent. "You just dragged my pregnant daughter across a marble floor. Your life, as you know it, ends today."
"Please... wait, Eleanor, we can discuss this..." Richard begged, his arrogance entirely shattered, replaced by raw panic.
"Throw him out of my building," Eleanor ordered.
The guards seized Richard by his expensive suit jacket. He thrashed and kicked, screaming Claire's name. "Claire! Tell them to stop! I am your husband! Claire!"
Claire watched him being dragged away. The illusion was gone. Richard had never loved her; he had only ever loved the power he held over someone weaker than him.
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"You canceled me first, Richard," she whispered with absolute finality.
The guards physically threw him through the doors, tossing his expensive suitcase into the rainy alleyway.
