Chapter 2 - Directive Omega
The silence in the room was so absolute you could hear the ice melting in the crystal water pitchers.
Chloe, who had been giggling just five minutes earlier, now looked like she was about to faint. She looked at Carter, then at me, her eyes wide with terror.
"Harper, this is insane," Carter stammered, holding his hands up as if trying to physically push the truth away. "You were a freelance accountant when we met. You drove a used Honda!"
"I drove a used Honda because I didn't want a gold-digger for a husband," I stated flatly. "I wanted a partner. I wanted a family. Instead, I got a spoiled, arrogant child who cheated on his pregnant wife with a marketing assistant." I cast a brief, freezing glance at Chloe.
Marcus stepped forward, dropping a manila folder onto the table directly in front of Carter. Then he dropped one in front of Beatrice, and finally, one in front of Chloe.
"Directive Omega is a corporate emergency protocol designed for catastrophic breaches of fiduciary duty and gross moral misconduct," Marcus explained, his voice entirely devoid of emotion. "It triggers the immediate termination of employment, with cause. It voids all severance packages. And it initiates the immediate clawback of all corporate assets."
Beatrice’s hands were shaking so badly she couldn't even open the folder. "Corporate assets? What are you talking about?"
"He means everything, Beatrice," I said softly.
Outside, a loud, mechanical grinding noise echoed from the driveway.
Carter spun around and ran to the bay window. His jaw dropped open. Two heavy-duty tow trucks were currently hooking up his $120,000 Porsche and Beatrice’s customized Range Rover.
"Hey! What are they doing?!" Carter yelled, banging on the glass. "Those are our cars!"
"Those are company cars," Marcus corrected. "Leased under the executive fleet program. A program you no longer qualify for."
Chloe scrambled to open her folder. She read the first page and let out a horrified gasp. "My corporate credit card... it says it's been frozen. Carter, they cancelled the card!"
"You're not an employee anymore, Chloe," I reminded her. "You don't get to buy your designer bags on the company dime while pretending to do 'market research'."
Beatrice suddenly stood up, her face twisted in absolute fury. She picked up a heavy silver fork from the table and threw it at me. One of the security guards stepped in effortlessly, swatting the fork to the ground before it came anywhere near me.
"You manipulative, lying bitch!" Beatrice screamed, completely abandoning her refined, high-society persona. "We took you in! We put a roof over your head!"
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I couldn't help it. I smiled. It was a cold, terrifying smile.
"That's the funniest part of all of this, Beatrice," I whispered. "You didn't put a roof over my head. I put one over yours."
