Chapter 6 - The Confrontation
At 2:00 PM, the private elevator doors opened into the penthouse foyer, and Mark Bennett walked out.
He was thirty-two, wearing a cheap suit that was slightly too tight, his hair slicked back with heavy gel. He carried an air of desperate confidence, looking around the jaw-dropping luxury of the penthouse with greedy, calculating eyes.
"Unbelievable," Mark muttered to himself, stepping onto the polished hardwood floor. "Clara really struck gold here."
I stood near the grand piano, my hands clenched tightly in front of me. Cameron sat behind his mahogany desk in the open study, looking like a king waiting to pass judgment on a trespasser.
Mark saw me and smirked, walking toward the study. "Hey, Clara. Nice digs. I see why you're always willing to work late shifts. How much is this guy paying you to sweep the rugs?"
"Watch your tongue in this house, Mark," I said, my voice cold and hard.
"Whatever," Mark dismissed me with a wave of his hand, turning his attention to Cameron. "Mr. Hale. I'm Mark Bennett. I assume your lawyer told you why I'm here."
Cameron didn't stand up. He didn't offer a hand to shake. He simply stared at Mark with the cold, predatory intensity that made international CEOs sweat during hostile takeovers.
"Sit down, Mr. Bennett," Cameron said calmly.
Mark’s smirk flickered slightly under Cameron's terrifying gaze, but he sat in the leather chair across from the desk, crossing his legs.
"Look, Mr. Hale," Mark began, leaning forward. "I'm a reasonable man. Clara took my daughter away from me. She's working crazy hours, leaving Sadie with random babysitters—"
"You owe ninety-two thousand dollars to a loan shark named Eddie Chen in Vancouver," Cameron cut in, his voice smooth as silk, reading off a paper on his desk. "Your sports betting account was frozen three days ago. And you haven't paid rent on your apartment in two months."
Mark froze, his face turning pale. "Where did you get that—"
"I own the firm that manages Eddie Chen's commercial real estate leases," Cameron continued, looking up from the paper, his dark eyes fixing onto Mark's face like gun barrels. "If I make one phone call, Mr. Chen will demand full repayment of your debt by 5:00 PM today. If you fail to pay, you will be in a federal holding cell by nightfall."
Mark swallowed hard, sweat suddenly breaking out along his hairline. "You... you can't do that. This is family court!"
"This was family court," Cameron corrected, sliding a thick blue legal folder across the desk. "Now it's a business transaction. Inside that folder is a cashier's check for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, made out to you. Beside it is a document surrendering all parental rights to Sadie Bennett, permanently and irrevocably."
Mark stared at the blue folder. His fingers twitched.
"One hundred and fifty thousand?" Mark whispered, his greed instantly overpowering his pride.
"Take the check, sign the paper, and step out of my building," Cameron said, his voice dropping into a lethal register. "If you ever contact Clara again, if you ever come within five hundred yards of Sadie, or if you even speak her name, I will spend ten million dollars making sure you spend the next twenty years of your life in a state penitentiary."
I watched my ex-husband. There was no hesitation in his eyes. No sorrow. No conflict about giving up his daughter forever.
He grabbed the pen, flipped to the last page of the document, and signed his name with rapid, shaking strokes. He snatched the cashier's check, stuffed it into his jacket pocket, and stood up immediately.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Hale," Mark said, without even looking at me, before turning and sprinting toward the elevator.
The elevator doors closed, leaving the penthouse in absolute silence.
May you like
I dropped into the leather chair, burying my face in my hands, hot tears of relief spilling over my fingers. The dark shadow that had haunted my life for three years was finally gone.
Cameron came around the desk. He didn't say a word. He simply placed a gentle, steady hand on my shoulder, anchoring me against the storm.
