A Million Dollar Lie: Watch Me Leave

Chloe Beaumont hadn't even stepped fully into the living room before her father's disgust hit her like a wall.

"Can't you ever dress respectably?" Cedric Beaumont raked his gaze over Chloe's faded band t-shirt and ripped jeans with blatant revulsion. "You look like a beggar who sneaked in from the gutter."

Beside him, her stepsister Olivia smoothed the pristine lapel of her white Chanel suit, her sky-blue eyes dancing with malicious glee.

"Oh, don't be so harsh on Chloe, Dad," Olivia cooed, her voice a syrupy imitation of sweet concern. "Living in the sticks for years must have ruined her sense of style. Though, sister... if you needed money for proper clothes, you could have just asked. Walking around looking like street trash reflects poorly on the family."

Cedric slid a forced marriage agreement across the mahogany table. "There's been a change. Olivia will be marrying Connor Sharpe in your place."

Olivia reached out, her manicured hand landing on Chloe's wrist, the million-dollar diamond engagement ring on her finger catching the light with blinding arrogance.

"Don't blame Dad, Chloe," Olivia whispered, her voice dripping with fake pity. "Connor insisted. He said he needed a polished lady for high society, not someone from the gutter. Besides, Dad found you another match-Julian Sharpe. The one in the wheelchair since his car crash? I hear he's an unhinged recluse, sister, but at least he's rich. You should be grateful."

Chloe flicked her wrist, brushing Olivia's hand away as if removing a pest. She didn't bother responding to the cheap taunt.

Looking at Olivia's euphoric, greedy face, a cold, silent amusement stirred deep within Chloe.

Let her celebrate. Olivia thought Connor was a prize, completely ignorant of the fact that Connor was merely a pawn currently being squeezed out of Apex Consolidated. Olivia thought she was stealing a kingdom, when in reality, she was taking Chloe's discarded garbage.

"Sign the agreement," Cedric commanded, slamming his hand on the table. "Or as Ethan's legal guardian, I will cut his private ICU funding today and transfer him to a state facility to rot."

Ethan.

The name didn't trigger panic; it triggered a swift, clinical calculation.

Cedric believed he was holding a hostage. In his desperate, short-sighted greed, he didn't realize he was handing Chloe a golden ticket straight into New York's highest power structure.

Chloe lifted her head, her gray-blue eyes radiating a cold, defeated anger on the outside, while her mind remained icy calm. She picked up the pen with lazy precision and slashed her signature onto the paper-a flawless performance of a cornered, rebellious daughter.

Chloe threw the pen onto the contract, the clatter making Olivia jump.

"From this day on," Chloe said, her voice dropping to a skin-crawling quiet, "I have no father."

She didn't waste another second, turning on her heel and walking out.

Behind her, Olivia snuggled against Cedric, giggling like a victor. "Now Connor is all mine, Daddy."

Enjoy your illusion, Chloe thought as the heavy front door closed behind her.

Outside in the cool New York air, Chloe pulled out her phone, staring at her brother's smiling face on the screen.

"Hang on, Ethan," she whispered, a cold, lethal smile touching her lips. "Cedric's guardianship is only a threat as long as he controls your hospital bills. The moment I use Sharpe's capital to lock your ICU trust independently, that old man's blackmail becomes worthless. And once I'm inside Columbia's labs... they won't even see the storm coming until it burns them to ash."

A black Lincoln town car glided to a silent stop in front of her. The window rolled down.

"Miss Beaumont. Please get in. Mr. Sharpe is waiting for you at City Hall."

Chloe pulled the door open and slid in.