Chapter 11 - Cleaning House
Over the next forty-eight hours, I conducted a systematic purge of the entire executive floor.
Every manager who had turned a blind eye to Chloe Thorne's abusive behavior, every employee who had watched her assault people in the hallway without reporting it, and every director who had taken bribes from Julian's shell company was terminated without severance.
The toxic culture Julian had built over five years was dismantled in two days.
On Friday afternoon, I stood in the middle of the executive lobby—the very spot where Chloe had dumped her iced matcha latte on my dress four days ago.
The floor was spotless. The glass elevators glided smoothly up and down the soaring atrium.
Marcus Vance walked up to me, holding a tablet.
"Madam CEO," Marcus said. "The federal prosecutors have denied bail for both Julian and Chloe due to flight risk. The court has placed a lien on all their personal properties, including Julian's sports cars and Chloe's luxury condo."
"And my mother-in-law?" I asked quietly.
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"We delivered the white limited-edition watch to Mrs. Vance Senior yesterday evening along with a letter explaining the situation," Marcus replied gently. "She was devastated by her son's actions, but she sent her deepest apologies to you and returned the watch to our legal team."
"Keep the watch in the family trust," I said, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city skyline. "She loved it. Send it back to her with a bouquet of white lilies. She did nothing wrong; she simply raised a foolish son."
