Chapter 2

Just as humiliation and rage threatened to tear me apart, Chloe's phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID, smirking smugly, and answered it on speaker with video in front of everyone.

Ethan's handsome yet visibly exhausted face appeared on the screen.

"Chloe, what is it? Didn't you say you were inspecting the new project today?" His voice was as deep and velvety as ever, carrying a faint trace of weariness.

"Ethan..." Chloe immediately melted into a victim, her eyes welling up with tears. "An uninvited guest showed up at the office. She's claiming to be your wife and trying to hijack the Strategic Development division. She's practically bullying me to tears."

Ethan's brows instantly snapped together, his gaze turning razor-sharp.

"Someone did that? Turn the camera toward her."

Chloe turned her phone toward me.

The moment our eyes met, I caught the briefest flicker of shock in Ethan's eyes. But it vanished in an instant, replaced by a bottomless pit of cold disgust.

"Vivian Sterling?" He said my full name, his voice completely devoid of warmth. "I thought I made myself very clear. Leaving you that suburban villa and the ten million dollars was out of respect for our past. Don't get greedy. My patience has limits."

"Making a scene at the office—are you trying to let everyone know about our shameful past?"

He paused, his voice booming with icy fury.

"My wife has only ever been Chloe Vance from start to finish. As for you... I don't ever want to see your face again. My assistant will handle the rest. Watch yourself."

The video call cut off abruptly.

The entire lobby fell deathly quiet. Everyone looked at me like I was a pitiful clown.

Chloe walked up to me, raised her hand, and delivered a stinging, resounding slap across my face.

*Smack!*

"Did you hear that, you fake?" she whispered into my ear, her voice barely loud enough for only the two of us to hear. "You're just garbage he threw away after getting bored. Did you really think you mattered?"

The burning pain spread from my cheek straight into my chest, but I laughed.

I laughed at my own naivety. I laughed at how utterly stupid I had been.

So those two months of "business trips abroad" were just his excuse to cut ties.

All those sweet "I love yous" and "I miss yous" were just lies to keep me pacified.

In the end, I was the one kept in the dark like a fool.

"Get her out of here!" Chloe straightened up, returning to her haughty demeanor. "Hayes Enterprises doesn't welcome trash with no morals!"

Several security guards immediately closed in, reaching out to drag me out.

"Back off!" I snapped, my icy glare sweeping over everyone in the room. "I am Vivian Sterling, sole heir to the Sterling Empire and the second-largest shareholder of Hayes Enterprises! Lay a single finger on me today and see what happens to you!"

My identity had always been hidden beneath Ethan's shadow. We had agreed that until I formally stepped into Hayes Enterprises, neither of us would reveal it to the public.

Now, it had become the only weapon left to protect my dignity.

At the mention of "the Sterling Empire," the color drained from several people's faces. In this city, the Sterling name carried absolute weight.

Chloe's face paled for a second, but she quickly regained her footing and sneered, "An heiress to the Sterling family? How hilarious. Everyone knows the Sterling heiress has been recovering abroad for years, keeps to herself, and never shows her face in public. You think making up a fake identity is going to scare me?"

"Whether it's fake or not, you're about to find out."

Ignoring her completely, I dialed my father's senior executive assistant, Arthur, and put the call on speaker.

"Arthur, it's me. Vivian."