Clarissa took the worn navy dress from Mrs. Martha’s arms and held it up.
“This dress was never the humiliation,” she said. “The humiliation was that I let someone convince me I was less than the woman standing beside him in borrowed diamonds.”
Chloe’s face twisted.
Julian whispered, “Clarissa, please.”
But she was already walking away.
Arthur offered his arm.
This time, Clarissa took it.
Behind her, Julian Cross stood on a stage full of exposed secrets, surrounded by people who no longer wanted to be photographed near him.
And for the first time that night, Chloe was the one left behind.
PART 5 — Before Sunrise, the Empire Began to Fall
At 1:17 a.m., Cross Holdings’ emergency board meeting began.
By 1:43 a.m., Julian realized he was not entering a meeting.
He was entering an execution.
He sat at the head of the long glass table in the company’s Cleveland headquarters, still wearing his gala suit, though the tie now hung loose around his neck. Around him, directors appeared in person or on screens, their faces grim with the terror of people whose fortunes were chained to a sinking man.
