Chapter 5

"You’re absolutely insane! Money-grubbing bitch!"

Mia screamed obscenities at me for a solid five minutes.

I didn't say a single word. I just walked to the door and pressed the intercom.

The police arrived ten minutes later.

"Who called the police?" the officer asked.

"I did," I said, pointing directly at Mia. "This woman broke into my private property, and she's currently wearing my stolen clothes."

Mia never expected me to actually call the cops. She instantly panicked and began screaming her twisted version of the story to the officers.

I didn't bother arguing. I simply walked over to the safe, pulled out the deed of the house, and handed it to the officer. "I am the sole owner of this property. I have no idea who she is."

That shut Mia up.

Before she could even figure out what was happening, the officers handcuffed her and dragged her out for trespassing and grand larceny.

Ten minutes after they left, Ethan rushed in.

"Mia, baby, I'm back—"

He froze when he saw me standing in the living room. "Where’s Mia?"

"At the police station."

Ethan practically exploded. "What did you do?!"

I remained perfectly calm. "I told you. If you want to save Mia, prepare to trade your company's shares."

"In your dreams!"

Ethan threw the strawberry cake he was holding onto the floor and ran out to chase after the police car.

Maria and the maids had finished packing all of Ethan’s belongings, but nobody from the Sterling family had come to collect them.

I told Maria, "Find a moving company. Ship everything to the Sterling estate. Make sure it's cash on delivery."

Then, I called an interior designer to completely remodel the house and instructed the neighborhood security to permanently ban Ethan and his family from entering the premises.

After handling all of this, I went straight to the office.

Over the next few days, I was completely absorbed in severing all business ties with the Sterling Group.

The Sterlings tried calling us dozens of times a day, but my parents and I ignored every single one of them.

According to our mutual business associates, the Sterling Group was drowning.

Virtually overnight, their market value plummeted by hundreds of millions of dollars.

They went from being high-and-mighty elite capitalists to a debt-ridden company on the verge of bankruptcy.

It wasn't just because our family pulled out, but because Ethan had proven himself to be incredibly unstable. No serious investor wanted to work with a man who would ruin his own wedding for a side chick.

He had dug his own grave.

While his parents were working themselves to the bone trying to save the company, Ethan was still running around trying to get Mia out of jail.

He didn't care about his family's business at all.

After failing multiple times to bail Mia out, he finally swallowed his pride and came to find me.

"What do you want from me, Chloe? You’re targeting my family, and you’re targeting Mia. Isn't this all just a scheme to force me to marry you? Fine! I agree to marry you. Are you happy now?"

Ethan looked like he was making the ultimate sacrifice.

I looked at him, completely disgusted that he thought marrying him was some kind of prize.

I shook my head. "Oh, please don't. I wouldn't want you to feel forced, Ethan. You and Mia deserve each other. An 'older woman' like me is far beneath you."

"You—"

Ethan wasn't completely stupid; he could hear the mockery in my voice.

But he still tried to soften his tone. "Look, I’ll marry you. My mom said this Thursday is a good date. Let's just do it then."

"Sure."

Realizing he was completely delusional, I decided not to waste my breath.

If he wanted to humiliate himself publicly, I was more than happy to facilitate it.

Over the next two days, I had my lawyer officially press charges against Mia.

With solid evidence of defamation, cyber-harassment, and trespassing, it was more than enough to keep her in a cell for a long time.

My assistant told me that Ethan visited her every single day.

He kept telling her, "Don't worry, Mia. I’m going to marry Chloe on Thursday. Once we're married, she'll have to drop the charges."

Thursday arrived quickly.

The Sterling family had sent out the invitations early on. Surprisingly, a few guests actually showed up, mostly curious to see the drama.

But the scheduled hour came and went, and I, the bride, was nowhere to be seen.

Ethan was losing his mind, calling my phone repeatedly.

I finally picked up on his fifth call.

"What the hell are you doing, Chloe?! Aren't you afraid my parents will think you're unworthy of our family and call off the wedding?" Ethan’s furious voice screamed through the receiver.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Actually, Ethan, I agree with your parents. I really don't think I'm worthy of your prestigious family. So, let's call it off permanently."

I hung up immediately.

No matter how many times he called back, I ignored him.

Just as Ethan was about to throw a tantrum at the venue, the projector screen behind him started playing a video.

After watching it, Ethan ran out of the hall like a lunatic.