Chapter 5: Desperate Begging

The realization hit Ethan like a lightning strike to his skull.

Five years. For five whole years, he had lived under the same roof with the richest heiress on the planet. The woman who made his meals, washed his clothes, and endured his cold silence was the sole owner of the financial titan that controlled the kingdom’s economy!

Every loan he ever got… every supply contract… every VIP invitation to high-society galas… it wasn’t because of his “fashion genius.” It was all Natalie quietly pulling strings behind the curtain!

“Ethan!” Chloe sobbed, grabbing his shoulders violently. “Do something! Call her! Tell her it was a joke! The banks are locking up my luxury restaurant too! They say I owe ten million in unpaid tax fraud!”

“Shut up!” Ethan screamed, shoving Chloe away. “You told me to humiliate her! You told me she was trash!”

Within two hours, federal marshals and debt collectors stormed Carter Luxury Headquarters. Ethan’s personal bank accounts were frozen. His luxury penthouse was sealed. His fleet of sports cars was towed away on live television.

By sunset, Ethan Carter and Baroness Chloe Vance were utterly penniless, standing in the cold rain outside the towering obsidian gates of Sinclair Tower.

The rain soaked through Ethan’s cheap coat. He looked up at the 110-story skyscraper glowing with golden lights in the evening sky.

“Natalie!” Ethan shouted frantically at the heavy iron gates, banging his fists against the bars. “Natalie! Please! It’s Ethan! I was wrong! I was blind!”

Guards in black tactical uniforms stood at the gate, their faces stoic and impassive.

A sleek black Maybach glided up to the inner courtyard. The heavy iron gates opened automatically.

Harrison opened the door, and Natalie stepped out under a silk umbrella. She wore a tailored ivory cashmere coat, a diamond crown pin sparkling on her lapel, her aura radiating unapproachable royalty.

Ethan broke past the guard barrier and fell onto his knees in the mud right at her feet, sobbing pathetically.

“Natalie! My wife!” Ethan cried, clutching the hem of her coat. “Forgive me! Chloe tricked me! She seduced me! I never stopped loving you! Please… take me back! Revoke the bank order! Give Carter Luxury one more chance!”

Chloe ran up behind him, dropping to her knees as well, her mascara running down her bruised face. “Miss Sinclair! I was foolish! I will be your maid! I will clean your shoes for real! Just don’t send me to prison!”

Natalie looked down at the two pathetic figures grovelling in the dirt. Her eyes held no pity, no anger—only absolute, icy indifference.

“Five years, Ethan,” Natalie spoke softly, her voice carrying over the sound of rain. “For five years, I gave you my loyalty, my wealth, and my youth. You had gold, power, and a devoted wife. But you threw it all away for cheap vanity.”

She withdrew her silk hem from Ethan’s muddy fingers.

“You built your empire on my mercy. Now, you will experience my justice.”

“Natalie! No! Please!” Ethan screamed, reaching out desperately as guards grabbed his arms and dragged him backward.

Natalie turned her back on him and walked into the grand marble lobby of Sinclair Tower.