Chapter 5

Clara dried her face and walked into the HR department to process her return. The HR director coldly handed her a transfer notice.

"Ms. Sterling, since you've been away from the frontline business for too long, the company has decided to temporarily reassign you to Sales Department Two as a junior account manager," the director said mechanically.

Clara didn't flinch at the maiden name. Since the day Vance Tech was acquired, she had strictly forbidden anyone at the company from calling her Mrs. Vance, insisting on keeping her professional identity entirely separate from Julian's shadow. Now, that boundary felt like the only piece of dignity she had left.

Clara stared at the document. Julian had signed the approval line. Her blood boiled. She knew Julian was trying to humiliate her into going back home.

She didn't scream or argue. She calmly signed her name, took the paper, and walked straight to Sales Department Two.

Mitch, the sales manager and Julian's loyal dog, saw her coming. He walked up with a fake, mocking smile. "Well, well. The boss's wife is coming down to the trenches to experience peasant life?"

Mitch spoke loudly on purpose. The entire open office turned to stare and whisper.

Clara looked at him with dead eyes. "Manager Mitch, in the office, refer to me as Ms. Sterling. Where is my desk?"

Mitch flinched slightly at her freezing tone. He pointed awkwardly to a broken, dusty desk shoved in the back corner next to the trash cans.

Clara walked over without a word and started cleaning the desk. She would swallow this humiliation. She needed this position to access the company's core financial data.

She survived until 5:00 PM. Clara walked out of the corporate building. A black Bentley pulled up in front of her. The window rolled down. It was Julian.

"Get in, honey. I'll take you home." Julian wore the mask of a perfect, loving husband.

Clara didn't want to alert him yet. She opened the passenger door and got in. The car reeked of Julian's heavy cologne.

The Bentley merged onto the highway heading toward Long Island. Julian started complaining. "You really embarrassed me today. Everyone is laughing at us."

Clara stared at the blurred trees outside. "You demoted me from Vice Director to a junior sales rep. Who exactly is laughing at who?"

Julian's face darkened. Before he could yell, his phone resting on the center console vibrated violently.

The caller ID showed an unsaved number, but Clara instantly recognized the last four digits. It was Sierra.

Julian glanced at the screen. Panic flashed in his eyes. He quickly hit decline.

"Why didn't you answer?" Clara turned her head, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

"Just a spam call," Julian lied smoothly.

Before he finished his sentence, the phone lit up again. A text message popped up on the lock screen: [Julian, help me! My ex-husband found me! He's smashing the door! I'm so scared!]

The message stayed on the screen for exactly two seconds. Both Clara and Julian read every single word.

Julian's face drained of color. He violently yanked the steering wheel. The tires screeched against the asphalt as he slammed the brakes, forcing the car onto the emergency shoulder of the highway.

"Clara, I have an absolute emergency. Get out and call a cab," Julian ordered rapidly, already unbuckling his seatbelt.

Clara stared at him in pure disbelief. "We are on the highway! You want me to call a cab here?"

"Stop being difficult! Someone's life is in danger!" Julian completely dropped his gentle mask and roared at her.

He leaned aggressively over the console, shoved the passenger door open, and practically pushed Clara out of the seat.

The heavy door slammed shut. The Bentley roared to life and shot back into the fast lane, disappearing into the traffic.

Clara stood on the shoulder of the highway in her thin suit skirt and high heels. The freezing wind whipped her hair. Massive trucks roared past, threatening to blow her over.

She pulled out her phone to order an Uber. The screen showed "No Service." She was stranded in a dead zone.

The sky turned dark. The biting cold seeped into her bones. Just as despair started to choke her, a massive, black Maybach slowed down and stopped right in front of her.