Chapter 3 - The Mistress's Real Name and Hidden Past
While Julian sat in a holding cell downtown waiting for his arraignment, his panic-stricken mistress found herself abandoned in the lobby of the cathedral, ignored by the very executives who had once bowed to her face. Vanessa Cole thought she was securing a billionaire dynasty; instead, she was holding a ticking time bomb.
I stepped out of the private vestry room, my gaze locking onto her trembling figure. She was clutching a designer leather handbag as if it were a life raft.
'Looking for your meal ticket, Vanessa?' I asked, my voice carrying across the marble foyer.
Vanessa whipped around, her eyes flashing with defensive venom. 'You think you're so smart, Claire! You trapped him, but you can't touch me! I'm carrying his child! When Julian gets out, he'll—'%
'When Julian gets out?' I interrupted with a cold, humorless laugh. 'Vanessa, darling, let me educate you on the man you decided to hitch your wagon to. Do you honestly think Julian Vance loves you? Or do you think you were just a convenient tool to manipulate my father's estate?'%
'He loves me! He bought me a penthouse! He promised to marry me the second the divorce went through!'%
I pulled a slim manila folder from my briefcase and tossed it onto the glass coffee table between us. 'Open it. Page four.'%
Hesitantly, Vanessa picked up the folder, her manicured fingers trembling as she flipped the page. Her breath hitched. The document wasn't about Julian's company; it was a comprehensive background check on her own colorful history.
'Vanessa Cole... or should I say, Victoria Miller?' I said quietly. 'Former executive assistant at Vanguard Holdings, terminated three years ago under suspicion of corporate espionage and embezzlement. Two prior arrests for fraud and identity theft in Nevada. And let's talk about your current financial standing: over two hundred thousand dollars in personal debt, credit cards maxed out, and collection agencies hunting you down across three states.'%
Vanessa slammed the folder shut, her face turning chalk white. 'Where... where did you get this?'%
'When you sleep with an ambitious man like Julian, you check his bank accounts. When an ambitious man sleeps with a con artist like you, you check her police record,' I replied smoothly. 'Julian didn't tell you that before he married me, he signed an ironclad prenuptial agreement protecting every single dollar of my family's estate, didn't he?'%
Vanessa stared at me in stunned silence. 'No... he said he was the sole heir... he said your father's will left everything to him...'%
'He lied. Just like he lied to you about his divorce—which, by the way, was never actually filed. Legally, Julian is still my husband, and every single dime he spent on you, from your luxury handbags to your penthouse rent, was drained from marital assets. Under state law, I can sue you both to recover every single cent.'%
Tears welled in Vanessa's eyes, not of grief, but of pure, unadulterated terror. 'You can't do that... I'm pregnant! I have nothing!'%
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'Then I suggest you start talking,' I said, leaning in close. 'Tell me every single shell company Julian set up, every secret bank account he hid from the IRS, and every co-conspirator he has inside Sterling Global Logistics. Do it now, or you'll be sharing a prison cell with the father of your child.'
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