Chapter 9 - The Financial Guillotine
Two days later, Victoria thought she had survived the fallout.
She was sitting in her father’s luxury high-rise apartment downtown, sipping wine and plotting how to spin the breakup to her high-society friends. She assumed she would just move on to the next wealthy bachelor.
She was entirely, catastrophically wrong.
Mr. Sterling didn't just throw her out. He was a billionaire CEO, and he knew exactly how to dismantle a person's entire life.
Victoria’s father’s real estate firm relied heavily on massive investments from Mr. Sterling’s corporate holding company. At 9:00 AM on Monday morning, Mr. Sterling ruthlessly pulled every single dollar of his investments. He publicly blacklisted Victoria’s family firm, citing "severe ethical violations."
By noon, Victoria’s father was entirely bankrupt.
The luxury apartment was seized. The cars were repossessed. Victoria’s credit cards were completely frozen. She went from wearing designer beige silk dresses to scrambling for pennies in a matter of hours.
The high-society elite, hearing rumors of what she had done to a child, entirely ostracized her. She was permanently, utterly ruined, forced to take a minimum-wage job just to survive.
The wicked stepmother got exactly what she deserved.
May you like
Back at the mansion, the chaotic, violent energy of her presence completely evaporated. The house was filled with laughter again.
👉 I unpacked my beige suitcase, but a quiet moment in the kitchen revealed a beautiful new beginning.
