Chapter 5 - The Desperate Plea
The phone calls started the very next day.
First came Julian. He called my office line, my personal line, even emailed my corporate address. When those were blocked, he resorted to sending hand-delivered letters to my office building.
I ignored them all. I was busy running my company. Pendelton Holdings was thriving. We had just acquired a beautiful boutique residential building in Brooklyn, and my team was working on a sustainable housing initiative that was gaining traction in the press. My belly was now noticeably round, a beautiful, constant reminder of what mattered most.
One rainy Tuesday afternoon, as I was walking out of my office building accompanied by my head of security, Frank, I found Julian standing by the entrance.
He looked terrible. His hair was disheveled, his expensive suit wrinkled, and he had lost weight. The confident, wealthy prince of Greenwich was gone, replaced by a desperate, broken man.
"Clara!" he cried out, stepping forward. Frank immediately stepped in front of him, his massive frame blocking Julian completely.
"It’s okay, Frank," I said quietly, keeping my distance. "Julian. What do you want?"
"Clara, please, just five minutes," Julian begged, his eyes watering. "I didn't know. I swear to God, I didn't know about your grandfather, or the money... or any of it."
"Of course you didn't," I said, my voice cold and steady. "Because you only value people based on their bank accounts. When you thought I had nothing, I was garbage to be thrown onto the lawn. Now that you know I have more than you, you’re begging at my feet."
"No, that’s not true!" Julian protested, stepping to the side to try and see my stomach. "I love you, Clara. And that’s my baby you’re carrying. We are a family! We can put this all behind us. I’ll stand up to my mother. I’ll do whatever you want!"
"You're about six months too late for that, Julian," I said. "Where was this love when your mother was throwing my clothes in the dirt? Where was this strength when you stood there silently and watched me get evicted in the cold? You didn't care about me, and you didn't care about this baby. You only care about saving your family’s business from bankruptcy."
"Clara, please," Julian cried, tears now streaming down his face. "If you don't grant us the easement, we lose everything. The banks will foreclose on the Sterling mansion. My mother... she’s losing her mind. We will be ruined."
"Then I suggest you start packing," I replied smoothly. "Because I am never signing that easement. You wanted me out of your family, Julian. You got your wish. Now, stay out of mine."
May you like
I walked past him and stepped into the waiting car. Through the tinted window, I watched Julian collapse against a lamppost, burying his face in his hands.
It wasn't a feeling of cruel satisfaction that washed over me, but rather a profound sense of closure. The man I had once loved was a ghost, a weak shadow of a person. I was no longer his victim. I was his judge.
