Chapter 4

"I don't love him anymore," Chloe said, her voice clear and steady. She was facing her grandmother in the family study, the room where all major Davis family decisions were made.

Matilda stared at her, her expression a mix of confusion and pity. "Chloe, love is a luxury. We are talking about survival. You loved him once. You can find that feeling again."

"No," Chloe said, shaking her head. The finality in her tone was absolute. "That's gone. It hurts, yes. It hurts more than I can say. But it' s not coming back. He killed it."

She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Liam is a lost cause. He will run InnovateTech into the ground, and he will take Sarah with him. We need a new plan. I need a new shield."

"A new shield?" Matilda repeated, her brow furrowed.

"I will find this family a new backer," Chloe declared, her chin held high. "Someone so powerful that Liam wouldn't dare to cross them. Someone who can protect the company and our name."

"And who would that be?" her grandmother asked, skeptical. "There are few people in this city who hold that kind of power."

"Mark," Chloe said simply.

The name hung in the air between them. "The recluse? The man who hasn't been seen in public in a decade?" Matilda' s voice was filled with disbelief. "Chloe, that's not a marriage, it's a sentence. You would be burying yourself alive."

"I' m already buried," Chloe replied calmly. "At least this way, my sacrifice means something. Mark's family owes us a debt of honor from my great-grandfather's time. He is a man of his word. He is reclusive, but his influence is unmatched. His name alone will be enough to stabilize the company and keep Liam in check."

Her grandmother looked at her, and for the first time, tears welled in the old woman' s eyes. She saw not a strategist, but her beloved granddaughter, willingly walking into a gilded prison to save them all. She reached out and pulled Chloe into a hug, her body shaking with silent sobs. "Oh, my child. What have we done to you?"

Just as they were holding each other, the sound of laughter echoed from the hallway. The front door opened and closed. Liam and Sarah walked in, arm in arm, looking like the triumphant couple of the year.

Liam' s smile vanished when he saw Chloe and his grandmother. His eyes narrowed, instantly on the defensive.

"What now?" he demanded, his tone sharp and accusatory. "Are you plotting something else against me?"

"Liam, that's enough," Chloe said, her voice tired.

"Is it?" he shot back. "I don't think so. I know what you are, Chloe. You're used to getting your way. You can't stand that I chose Sarah over you." He looked at her, his expression filled with a cold, dismissive disgust that twisted a knife in her already wounded heart. "You make me sick."

Sarah clung to Liam' s arm, her eyes wide with faux innocence. She looked at Chloe with a small, sad smile. "Chloe, please don't be like this," she said softly, her voice just loud enough for Liam to hear. "I know this is hard. I... I can leave. I'll go, if it means you and Liam can be happy again."

It was a masterful performance. The self-sacrificing victim.

Liam's heart melted, just as she knew it would. He pulled her into a protective embrace, glaring at Chloe over Sarah's head. "Don't you dare say that, Sarah. It's not your fault. You've done nothing wrong. Chloe is the one who can't let go."

Chloe watched them, a detached observer of her own execution. She remembered all the years she had cared for Sarah, defended her, treated her like a sister. She remembered buying Sarah her first designer dress, helping her with her college applications, listening to her endless boy troubles. All of it had been a lie. Sarah had been studying her, learning her weaknesses, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Liam, blinded by his own ego and Sarah's performance, announced he was moving Sarah into the company guest house on the estate. It was a small but significant property, reserved for important visitors. Giving it to Sarah was a public declaration of her new status. It was another slap in the face to Chloe.

As they left, Sarah glanced back at Chloe. She didn't say a word, but her eyes, glittering with victory, delivered a clear message. He' s mine. Everything you had is mine now.