My Cheating Ex Mocked Me on His Wedding Mic, Until the City’s Most Dangerous Billionaire Claimed Me as His Wife

The public humiliation at the gala was the final nail in the coffin of Grant Hollis's life. Within forty-eight hours, the city district attorney officially unsealed twenty-two criminal indictments against Grant and Sloan’s father for corporate embezzlement, fraudulent loan procurement, and falsification of state academic accreditation records.

Hazel sat in her newly renovated executive suite at Merrick Learning Institutes, looking through the glass at the city below. The office was bright, filled with fresh flowers, architectural blueprints for five new non-profit learning centers, and books written by independent educators.

A knock sounded at the door. Her assistant, Brie Hollis—Grant’s younger sister, who had quit Grant's company the very night of the wedding and had been hired immediately by Hazel—poked her head in.

""Hazel... someone is here to see you. She begged for five minutes. I told her no, but she refused to leave the lobby.""

Hazel leaned back in her chair. ""Send her in, Brie.""

Moments later, Sloan Merrick walked into the office.

She was unrecognizable. Her once-flawless blonde blowouts were tied in an oily bun. Her designer makeup was gone, revealing sallow skin and dark purple circles under her swollen eyes. She wore an oversized trench coat that looked like it had been bought at a discount store.

Sloan stood in the center of the vast office, clutching her cheap vinyl purse with trembling fingers.

""Hazel,"" Sloan choked out, her voice cracking. ""Please. You have to stop them.""

Hazel didn't invite her to sit. She kept her hands folded on the desk, her expression unreadable. ""Stop who, Sloan?""

""The banks. The district attorney. Raymond's lawyers,"" Sloan wept openly, falling to her knees before the desk. ""They seized our house in Newport. My parents had their passports revoked. We have nothing left! They're taking my car this afternoon! We're being evicted from our apartment!""

""I remember that feeling,"" Hazel said evenly. ""Nine months ago, when my heat was shut off in the middle of January because Grant took my entire paycheck to pay for your weekend trip to Aspen. Do you remember what you told me when I asked you for a five-hundred-dollar loan?""

Sloan swallowed hard, tears pouring down her cheeks. She couldn't answer.

""You told me that poverty was a mindset,"" Hazel said softly, every word hitting Sloan like a physical blow. ""You told me that if I worked harder, I wouldn't have to beg my friends for scraps.""

""I was stupid! I was selfish!"" Sloan sobbed, reaching out toward the desk. ""Grant manipulated me! He told me he loved me, that he was leaving you anyway! Please, Hazel, we were best friends for nine years! For the sake of our college days... please tell Raymond to drop the charges!""

Hazel stood up slowly, walking around the desk to look down at the woman who had systematically dismantled her life.

""I didn't file the criminal charges, Sloan. The state did, because you and Grant broke the law,"" Hazel said with quiet finality. ""And as for Raymond... Raymond doesn't take orders from anyone. But even if he did, I wouldn't ask him to spare you.""