Chapter 6

"Julian, Chloe is here. She says she needs you to sign something urgently."

Scarlett's voice echoed from inside the apartment, sweet but laced with hidden venom.

When Julian opened the door, he was wearing lounge pants, his hair still damp from the shower. His brow was furrowed, already wearing his trademark "Who are you?" expression.

I didn't give him a chance to act.

"Helen sent me," I said, thrusting the papers into his hands. "There's an issue with your Apex Data brokerage account. Aura Tech's recent buyout triggered a system audit, and they need the primary shareholder's signature to verify the accounts."

I pointed directly to the signature line at the bottom.

"If you don't sign, your personal accounts will be frozen by tomorrow morning. None of your cards will work."

I had to make him believe he was signing to protect his funds, not giving them away.

Julian took the document and scanned it.

He read quickly, but Liam had drafted the paperwork brilliantly. The transfer clause was buried deep in Exhibit C, surrounded by dense, exhausting legal jargon.

No normal person would read it word-for-word, especially not a guy trying to pretend he had a traumatic brain injury.

"I don't really understand this," Julian muttered, staying in character. "Can you explain it?"

"It's just a standard verification form. Your mother is frantic. She said if you don't sign it now, she's driving over here tonight."

Mentioning Helen was the ultimate trigger.

Julian’s face changed. Scarlett was currently living in the apartment. If Helen showed up with security, things would get very ugly.

He hesitated for less than ten seconds.

Scarlett poked her head out from behind him. "Julian, just sign it. We don't want your mom making a scene tonight."

How helpful of her.

The sound of the pen scratching against the paper was incredibly quiet, but to me, it sounded like a heavy chain snapping.

"Done. Now leave," Julian handed the papers back and began to shut the door.

"Julian."

"What?"

"Thank you."

I slipped the documents into my bag, walked straight into the elevator, and dialed Liam's number.

"I got the signature."

"On it, Chloe. I'm filing the transfer immediately. The $4 million from Apex Data will clear within forty-eight hours."

"Which means... including the previous sales, the entire $11 million fortune Julian registered under your name will be completely transferred out in two days."

Eleven million dollars.

He had put that money under my name because he thought I would always be there. Or rather, he believed I would never have the guts to touch it.

"Liam, once the transfer is complete, I need a physical statement."

"What kind of statement?"

"A complete ledger of all transactions, bank transfers, and dates. Print three copies. One for me, one for your records, and mail the last one directly to Julian’s office front desk."

Those forty-eight hours passed agonizingly slowly.

On the first day, Julian posted a photo on Instagram. It was Scarlett curled up on his couch watching a movie, captioned: *Peaceful nights with my favorite person.*

The comments were flooded with heart emojis. No one tagged me.

On the second afternoon, my phone rang.

It was Gavin.

"Chloe, what the hell is going on? Why is 35% of Apex Data's equity being transferred to an offshore account?"

His voice was freezing, completely stripped of his usual friendly tone.

"Julian signed the authorization," I replied calmly.

"He signed it?! The guy has amnesia! Did he even know what he was signing?"

"He read the document, asked me to clarify, and signed it of his own free will. The signature is notarized."

Gavin fell into a long, heavy silence.

"Chloe, do you have any idea what you've done? Pulling that much capital out is going to trigger a margin call. Apex's cash flow is going to crash."

"Then Julian will have to handle it. After all, he’s the one who signed the papers."

I hung up. My hands were shaking slightly.

But I didn't care.

At 9:17 PM, Liam sent the final confirmation email.

[All assets cleared. Total liquidated amount: $11,362,000. Funds have been successfully moved into your private trust. Julian now has zero equity in any of the three startups.]

I stared at the number on the screen for a long time.

Then, I copied the FedEx tracking number and texted it to Paige.

[Tomorrow, a very special package will arrive at Julian’s office.]

Paige replied instantly.

[What's inside?]

[The most expensive breakup letter of his life.]