Chapter 7
After Detective Vance left, Jennifer spent the afternoon systematically purging the remnants of her old life from her digital footprint. She closed joint credit cards that had been lingering in limbo, updated her banking credentials across every personal account, and notified the corporate registry that her name was no longer affiliated with Sterling Enterprises.
Every keystroke felt like shedding a layer of heavy, suffocating wool. The maroon dress she had worn at the banquet hall hung neatly in the guest room closet—not as a trophy, but as a reminder of the exact threshold she had crossed. She decided to donate it. Some clothes carried too much history to keep in rotation.
As she worked, her phone chimed with a message from an unexpected source: Chloe, Marcus’s younger sister, who had always played the part of the devoted, innocent sibling while quietly accepting expensive gifts funded by Marcus’s illicit loans.
Jen, please tell me this isn't true. Marcus is talking about leaving the state. He's completely unraveling. Can we please talk? I didn't know anything about the fake trust fund, I swear.
Jennifer stared at the screen. She remembered Chloe’s knowing smirks at family dinners whenever Marcus bragged about his booming business ventures. She remembered the designer handbags Chloe casually flaunted, thanking Marcus for being such a "generous provider."
Jennifer tapped out a cold, concise response.
May you like
Your brother's legal troubles are his own to manage, Chloe. I suggest you consult an attorney regarding the gifts he purchased for you using corporate assets.
She blocked the number immediately afterward, cutting off the final tendrils of the Sterling family's toxic ecosystem. There was no room for manufactured drama or feigned ignorance in her new life. She closed her laptop, walked to the kitchen, and began preparing a simple, wholesome meal for one—the first time in years she cooked solely for her own palate.
