Chapter 5 - The Mistress and the Motive
I didn't want to just ruin Daniel in court; I wanted him to understand exactly how powerless he was.
I arranged a meeting with Chloe at a quiet, upscale coffee shop. When she walked in, she looked nothing like a confident mistress. She looked terrified. She was wearing oversized sunglasses and clutching a cheap purse, clearly realizing her sugar daddy’s bank accounts had evaporated.
She sat across from me, refusing to make eye contact.
"You took my condo," Chloe whispered angrily.
"I took back my company's property," I corrected. "Daniel stole from me to pay for you. Now, you have two choices, Chloe. I can name you as a co-conspirator in a federal embezzlement lawsuit, which carries a five-year prison sentence. Or, you can tell me exactly what Daniel was planning."
Chloe swallowed hard. The threat of prison shattered her loyalty to a broke man instantly.
"He said you were just a placeholder," she confessed, her voice shaking. "He said his mother hated you, and that as soon as his company went public, he was going to divorce you and leave you with nothing. He told me the mansion was his, and that I would be the new lady of the house."
I pulled a small digital recorder from my purse and pressed play. Chloe’s voice echoed softly from the speaker. I had recorded the entire confession.
"He lied to you, Chloe," I said, sliding a thick envelope across the table. "He’s drowning in debt. But I am not a cruel woman. Inside that envelope is ten thousand dollars in cash. Enough for a deposit on a new apartment and a bus ticket out of this city. Take it, disappear, and never speak to Daniel again."
She snatched the envelope like a lifeline and ran out of the coffee shop.
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When Daniel went to her condo that evening looking for a place to crash—having been formally locked out of the mansion—he found it completely empty, the locks changed. His mother was living in a cheap motel by the airport. His mistress was gone. His company was bankrupt.
All that was left was the courtroom.
