Chapter 5 - The Rat Flees the Sinking Ship
Jessica looked entirely different from the glamorous socialite who had swept down the cathedral aisle just days prior. Her designer makeup was smeared, her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and she wore a plain trench coat that looked suspiciously practical.
"Jessica?" Daniel blinked, stepping back in confusion. "What are you doing here? I thought you blocked my number."
"I did," Jessica said bluntly, pushing past him into the dark apartment without waiting for an invitation. She looked around the cavernous, empty room with undisguised disgust. "And I wouldn't be here now if my father’s real estate firm hadn't just received a termination notice from Sterling Enterprises canceling all of our municipal development contracts."
Daniel let out a hollow, bitter laugh. "So your family is ruined too?"
"Completely," Jessica snapped, turning to face him with naked fury in her eyes. "My father is liquidating his assets as we speak just to pay off the bank loans! And it's all your fault, Daniel! If you hadn't pulled that stupid, sadistic stunt at the altar—if you had just married the quiet girl without making a public spectacle of throwing her to the floor—none of this would have happened!"
"My stunt?" Daniel’s voice rose, a dangerous edge creeping into his tone as the humiliation and rage of the past week finally boiled over. "You were right there beside me, Jessica! You smiled when your mother clapped! You couldn't wait to step into her shoes and take over the Crawford name!"
"Because you told me she was a penniless nobody!" Jessica screamed back, her voice echoing off the bare walls. "You told me she was a charity case you were dumping for someone of higher status! You didn't tell me she was the sole heir to the most powerful financial conglomerate in the country!"
"Get out," Daniel whispered, pointing a shaking finger toward the door.
May you like
"Gladly," Jessica spat, turning toward the exit. "Enjoy your dark, empty apartment, Daniel. You're a beggar in an expensive suit, and everyone in this city knows it."
The door slammed shut behind her, leaving Daniel alone once more in the suffocating silence.
