Chapter 11 - Chapter 11 - THE DEAL WITH THE MISTRESS
The room fell silent, save for the faint, rhythmic hum of the medical monitors. I looked at the young woman standing before me—young, foolish, and completely trapped by the consequences of her own ambition. She had tried to steal a husband, only to discover she had won a bankrupt criminal facing a prison sentence.
"You made your bed, Chloe," I said, my voice measured and calm. "You chose to engage in a fraudulent relationship with a married man, and you chose to participate in his deception. I owe you no sympathy, and I certainly owe you no financial assistance."
Chloe flinched, clutching the baby tighter. "I'm not asking for money, Clara. I came to give you something." She reached into her canvas tote bag and pulled out a heavy, unmarked USB drive, placing it gently on the edge of my bedside table.
"What is this?" I asked, eyeing the drive cautiously.
"Ethan’s private digital ledger," Chloe answered, her voice dropping to a nervous whisper. "He kept it hidden in a encrypted partition on his office laptop. When he packed his bags this morning, he told me to throw the laptop away in the dumpster. I opened it instead. It contains records of every shell company, every illicit bribe paid to municipal inspectors, and every forged signature he used to secure those fraudulent loans—including documents implicating his mother."
Marcus, who had just walked back into the room holding a stack of discharge papers, froze in the doorway, staring at the USB drive as if it were carved from solid gold.
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"Is this authentic?" Marcus asked sharply, stepping forward.
"Every single byte," Chloe nodded, wiping her eyes. "He bragged about it when we were first dating. He said it was his 'insurance policy' against the world. Use it, give it to the federal prosecutors, do whatever you want. I just want my baby and a clean break from the Vance name."
