Chapter 7 - Lila’s True Colors
While the Whitmore family empire crumbled into dust, the cracks between Nathan and Lila Grant widened into an unbridgeable canyon.
Inside Nathan’s cramped, stale-smelling hotel room, clothing was scattered across the floor, empty takeout containers littered the desk, and Nathan was pacing back and forth like a caged beast.
Lila was sitting on the edge of the bed, her arms crossed, glaring at him with pure venom. Her phone had been blowing up with notices from her bank informing her that her accounts were under temporary judicial restraint.
""You told me she was a quiet, sheltered trust-fund baby who wouldn't dare cause a scandal!"" Lila yelled, her face contorted with anger. ""You said she was terrified of divorce! Now my business accounts are frozen, my clients have terminated their retainers, and the state attorney is threatening me with criminal conspiracy charges!""
""Will you shut up?"" Nathan shouted back, running wild hands through his greasy hair. ""I’m the one who lost everything! Riverhouse was supposed to make me fifty million dollars! She took the lease, she took the equipment, she took my car!""
""Because you didn't own any of it, Nathan!"" Lila screamed, standing up and towering over him with disgusted fury. ""You lied to me! You told me you were the billionaire! You told me your wife was just a boring housewife who inherited some old furniture! You built your entire macho playboy persona on her credit cards!""
Nathan stepped toward her, his eyes wide with shock. ""Lila... I did this for us! I took those funds so we could build our own brand! I loved you!""
Lila laughed—a sharp, shrill, mocking sound that stripped away the last shreds of Nathan's vanity.
""Loved me? You pathetic narcissist. I only gave you the time of day because I thought you were funding my marketing firm! Do you think I actually wanted to sleep with a middle-aged, balding egomaniac who needs his mother's approval for everything?""
Nathan looked as though he had been punched in the chest. ""What did you say?""
Lila grabbed her designer coat from the chair. ""I just signed an affidavit with Claire's lawyers an hour ago. I gave them every text, every email, every receipt, and every bank transfer code. In exchange, Hawthorne Trust is dropping all civil claims against me personally.""
Nathan grabbed her wrist in horror. ""You sold me out?""
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Lila ripped her arm from his grip with effortless disgust. ""It’s called survival of the fittest, darling. You’re going down, Nathan. And I refuse to drown in your sinking boat.""
She walked out the door and slammed it shut, leaving Nathan completely alone in the silent, suffocating room.
