Chapter 7 - Public Humiliation
The words hit Chloe like a physical blow. The air rushed out of her lungs. Her knees gave way, and she had to clutch the edge of the hallway table to keep from collapsing onto the floor.
“A… a billionaire?” she whispered, her eyes widening until the whites showed all around her pupils. “Clara? That plain, quiet girl…?”
“She owns half the skyline, you idiot!” Nolan laughed hysterically, clutching his head with both hands. “Her father is Henry Vale! The shipping lines, the pharmaceutical conglomerates, the real estate trusts—it’s all theirs! And she hid it from me to see if I truly loved her… and I threw her away for you! A talentless, parasitic gold-digger who couldn't even wait twenty-four hours before destroying my entire life!”
“Time is up,” the lead Deputy announced, glancing at his tactical watch. “Mr. Vance, Miss Adams, step outside to the elevator lobby. The locks are being rekeyed now.”
Before Chloe could even grab her coat, two officers escorted her toward the elevator doors. She was wearing only her silk slip dress and slippers. Nolan was pushed along beside her, clutching a single manila folder containing the few personal papers he was legally permitted to retain.
The elevator descended swiftly, the quiet humming of the motor sounding like the countdown to their public execution. When the doors slid open on the ground floor of the luxury residential tower, a blinding storm of camera flashes greeted them.
“Mr. Vance! Is it true Vance Dynamics has filed for emergency liquidation?”
“Nolan Vance, did your company falsify revenue reports for the Midtown project?”
“Miss Adams, how do you respond to the allegations of battery against Mrs. Clara Vale?”
Dozens of journalists, alerted by Vale Global’s public relations department, formed an impassable wall outside the glass canopy of the building. News vans with satellite dishes crowded the street. Microphones were thrust into Nolan’s face as he ducked his head in humiliation, trying to hide behind his empty folder.
“No comment! Get out of my way!” Nolan barked, elbowing through the throng.
Chloe tried to shield her face with her bare arms, but the photographers captured every inch of her smeared makeup, her unbrushed hair, and her cheap panic. A reporter pushed forward, holding a high-definition tablet screen in front of her.
“Miss Adams! Vale Global has just released security footage of last night’s incident to the District Attorney’s office! Can you confirm this is you shoving Mrs. Vale down the steps?”
On the screen, in crystal-clear definition, Chloe saw herself snarling like a feral animal, shoving the eight-month pregnant Clara violently out into the rain while Nolan stood in the doorway, raising a glass of wine and laughing. The timestamp at the bottom showed 11:42 PM.
The gathered crowd on the sidewalk—regular citizens who had stopped to watch the spectacle—gasped in collective outrage as the video played.
“Monster!” a woman in the crowd yelled, throwing a half-full paper coffee cup that splashed across the front of Chloe’s silk slip. “You pushed a pregnant woman!”
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“Lock them both up!” another voice shouted.
Chloe burst into tears of sheer humiliation, running barefoot across the wet pavement toward the subway entrance, while Nolan desperately hailed yellow cabs that refused to stop for a man being hounded by twenty camera crews.
