Chapter 7
The next few days moved like a whirlwind.
Elena barely rested. Her days were filled with quiet meetings, digging up old emails, reviewing legal documents, and making calculated phone calls. Everything she once knew about Andrew’s company—the projects, the partners, the people—she now used as fuel for her plan.
She wasn’t out to destroy everything.
No, she wanted precision.
She wanted him to watch the life he built come undone, thread by thread, with no one else to blame.
Jade handled most of the media angles. Subtle leaks here and there. Rumors of shady dealings, whispers of insider conflicts, quiet murmurs of mismanaged funds—all of it just enough to raise questions in the right circles.
By the end of the week, the company’s name had started to circulate in all the wrong places.
Meanwhile, Elena kept her distance from Sebastian. She didn’t reach out, and he didn’t push.
Still, his presence lingered in the back of her mind.
One evening, she got home and found a small package waiting at her door. No name. No note.
Inside was a sleek red lipstick and a handwritten line on the flap of the box: “War paint. Wear it well.”
She didn’t need a signature.
She already knew who sent it.
She smiled faintly and placed it on her vanity.
She hadn’t decided what Sebastian truly meant to her yet, but she couldn’t deny he had a way of making her feel seen.
Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a number she hadn’t saved, but she recognized it instantly.
Chloe.
For a moment, Elena considered ignoring it.
But then… she answered.
“Elena,” Chloe’s voice came through, tight and breathless. “We need to talk.”
Elena leaned back on the couch, completely calm. “Why? Have you finally run out of people to lie to?”
“I didn’t plan for any of this to happen,” Chloe blurted. “You have to believe me. It was a mistake. One night turned into a mess and—”
“Chloe,” Elena cut in, her voice low. “I heard him. I heard you. Don’t insult me with this nonsense.”
There was silence on the other end. Then a soft, trembling exhale.
“I miss you,” Chloe said. “You were my best friend.”
Elena’s hand clenched around her phone. “You were my best friend too. And you knew what Andrew meant to me. You knew what I gave up for him.”
“I didn’t mean to fall for him,” Chloe whispered.
“You didn’t fall,” Elena snapped. “You jumped. And now you expect me to catch you?”
Chloe was crying now, sniffling softly. “I’m pregnant.”
Elena froze.
The words hit her like a slap. Her breath caught in her chest, and for a second, she couldn’t speak.
Pregnant.
The final knife in the back.
“I thought you should know,” Chloe added, her voice cracking. “I didn’t want you to find out from someone else.”
Elena didn’t know how long she sat there after the call ended. The room was silent except for the faint ticking of the wall clock.
Pregnant.
Chloe was carrying Andrew’s child.
It should have broken her.
But strangely, it didn’t.
Maybe it was because she had no more pieces left to break. Maybe it was because, deep down, she had always suspected Chloe would go that far.
Or maybe… it was because she was done.
Done playing the good girl.
Done waiting for apologies.
Done needing closure.
She stood up, crossed to the vanity, and picked up the red lipstick.
With one smooth motion, she applied it. Bold. Confident. Unapologetic.
Then she looked at herself in the mirror and whispered, “Let them burn.”