Chapter 10: Stripped of Arrogance
Victoria looked frantically around the expansive boardroom, desperately searching for an ally among the executives she had known for years, but every single director averted their gaze, terrified of being tied to the disgraced family’s criminal enterprise.
"This is an absurd, orchestrated conspiracy! Clara, speak up and defend us!" Victoria pleaded hysterically, rushing around the mahogany table toward her stepsister with wide, manic eyes and trembling hands. "We are family, Clara! Think of everything I gave you! I gave you a prestigious platform at Maison Royale! I took you into our household when your mother passed away!"
Clara stood with unshakeable composure, meeting Victoria’s gaze without a single trace of the intimidation that had once dominated her life. "You never gave me a platform, Victoria. You locked my personal sketchbooks in your office safe, stole my original haute-couture concepts, and stamped your name onto my creations while paying me minimum wage and threatening to send my father to prison if I ever dared to speak out."
With deliberate precision, Clara unzipped her leather portfolio and spread dozens of original hand-drawn parchment sketches across the table. Every single design—including the world-famous L’Aurore collection that had catapulted Victoria to international fame—bore Clara’s authentic watermarked initials and legal copyright timestamps registered three years prior.
"Every shred of prestige your fashion atelier ever enjoyed was built entirely upon Clara's stolen genius," Leo declared, his voice cutting through the heavy silence like a razor. "Effective immediately, Vance Global is revoking all commercial leases, licensing agreements, and supplier lines associated with the Sterling name across North America and Europe. Furthermore, Clara Morales is officially appointed as Chief Creative Director and Executive Partner of the newly created Vance Lifestyle and Sustainable Design division."
Chloe, who had quietly slipped into the back of the boardroom earlier to witness what she assumed would be Victoria's triumph, shrank behind an ornamental pillar, desperately trying to conceal her face in mortification.
"You cannot do this to me!" Victoria shrieked, heavy black mascara streaming down her cheeks as her composure collapsed. "I am Victoria Sterling! I am the face of New York high society!"
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"A beautiful face is worthless when the soul behind it is rotten to the core," Leo said quietly. "Security, escort these individuals from the premises. They are permanently banned from every Vance property worldwide."
As armed security officers escorted Victoria and Eleanor out in tears, the entire assembly of honest board members rose in a spontaneous, roaring ovation.
