Chapter 9 - The Final Verdict
Julian spun around, staring at the security guards in absolute disbelief before looking back at Clara with pleading, desperate eyes.
"Clara, please," he begged, his voice cracking into a pathetic whimper as he dropped his hands to his sides.
"Drop the restraining order. Drop the fraud charges. I'll leave Chicago. I'll never bother you again. Just give me a small stake, something to start over with."
Clara stood up slowly from her executive chair, smoothing down the front of her tailored grey blazer.
She walked around the desk, stopping just a few feet away from him, looking into the eyes of the man who had tried to steal her legacy.
"When you decided to use my trust fund as your personal piggy bank while entertaining other women behind my back, you gambled everything on my ignorance, Julian," Clara said, her voice carrying the absolute weight of finality.
"You bet that I would be too weak, too forgiving, or too embarrassed to fight back."
She turned her back on him, walking back toward her desk.
"You lost the bet."
"Take him out," she instructed the guards without looking back.
The two massive security officers grabbed Julian by both arms, wrenching him away from the desk despite his frantic thrashing and desperate curses.
"You haven't won!" Julian screamed as they dragged him backward out of the double doors.
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"This isn't over, Clara! I'll ruin you too!"
The heavy mahogany doors slammed shut, cutting off his pathetic shouting once and for all, leaving absolute, peaceful silence in the executive office.
