Chapter 6 - The Emergency Visit
The following Monday morning, the security desk downstairs buzzed my office line with an unexpected visitor request. "Ms. Sterling, there’s a Mr. Ethan Miller in the lobby insisting on seeing you. He’s been informed he’s barred from the premises, but he’s causing a scene and refusing to leave until you speak with him." I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Send him up, security. Let’s get this over with once and for all." Ten minutes later, the heavy glass doors of my private office swung open. Ethan stumbled inside. The transformation in just two short weeks was staggering. His expensive bespoke suits were wrinkled and unpressed, his hair was messy and graying at the temples, and dark, hollow circles bruised the skin beneath his bloodshot eyes. He looked like a man who had stared into the abyss and found it staring right back. "Olivia," he choked out, taking a desperate step toward my desk before two private security guards firmly placed their hands on his shoulders, forcing him to halt. "Please... you have to call off your lawyers. They’re seizing my car, my apartment deposit, everything. I have nothing left. Absolutely nothing." I remained seated behind my desk, my expression completely impassoned. I didn't feel anger anymore; I felt only a profound, detached pity for the shell of a man standing before me. "You have exactly what you earned, Ethan," I said quietly. "You wanted a business advantage. You wanted a stepping stone into wealth and status. You gambled everything on a lie, and you lost." He fell to his knees right there on the office carpet, ignoring the security guards as hot tears streamed down his cheeks. "I was stupid! I was arrogant! Your mother... my own greed... they clouded my judgment, but I loved you, Olivia! I swear to God I loved you!" "If that is what love looks like, Ethan, I want nothing to do with it," I replied, my voice unwavering. "You traded my trust for a two-hundred-million-dollar fantasy, and you broke our vows without a second thought. The federal indictments are being filed this afternoon. Your trial will be public. And our divorce will be finalized by default." He stared up at me, his face twisting in agony as the absolute finality of my words crashed over him. The guards gently but firmly lifted him by his arms and escorted him out of the office, his desperate sobs echoing down the quiet corridor until the heavy glass doors sealed shut behind him.
