Chapter 9
I arrived at the coffee shop precisely on time, money in hand.
After thirty minutes of waiting, Claire finally appeared, wearing oversized sunglasses and a scarf wrapped around her head.
“You’re late,” I said impatiently.
Claire pulled down her mask, scanning the room with exaggerated thoroughness. “Had to make sure you weren’t setting me up. Not that you’d have the spine for it.”
She smirked. “Where’s my money?”
I nudged the bag at my feet. “Where’s the video?”
Claire carefully unzipped my bag just enough to peek inside. Her eyes lit up at the stacks of cash. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a flash drive, tossing it carelessly across the table.
“There. Now was that so difficult?”
1 pocketed the drive. “No copies, right?”
Claire’s expression shifted to a condescending smile. “Well, technically no… but a girl’s got to think about her future, doesn’t she? When this runs out-” she nudged the bag with her foot, “-I might suddenly remember having another copy somewhere.”
I slammed my hand on the table. “You’re double crossing me!”
She leaned back, examining her nails with theatrical boredom. “Call it whatever you want. I gave you what you paid for today. Tomorrow’s business is tomorrow’s business.”
She grabbed the bag and stood to leave, looking down at me with contempt.
I caught her arm. “Extortion. Privacy violation. Distribution of explicit content. That’s enough for several years behind bars.”
Claire yanked her arm free with a disgusted look. “As if, I cased this entire block. There’s not a cop within miles.”
“Face it, Anastasia–you don’t have the balls to go to the police. Take your little flash drive and count yourself lucky I’m being this
generous.”
The moment Claire stepped through the doorway, plainclothes officers converged from all directions, pinning her arms behind her
back.
Her face contorted with shock as the handcuffs clicked into place.
“YOU FUCKING WHORE!” she shrieked, spittle flying from her mouth. “IT DOESN’T MATTER! I SET UP AUTOMATIC UPLOADS! TEN MINUTES AND YOUR PATHETIC LIFE IS OVER! EVERYONE WILL SEE WHAT A DISGUSTING SLUT YOU ARE!”
I smiled coldly. “I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Thanks to your thirty minute delay, the police had plenty of time to access your apartment and take control of your accounts. Nothing’s getting uploaded.”
Claire’s eyes bulged as she thrashed against the officers with manic strength. “LIARI LIAR! IMPOSSIBLE!”
“I HOPE YOU DIE! YOU’RE ALREADY RUINED! THOSE PHOTOS ARE EVERYWHERE) YOUR COMPANY IS DEAD! YOUR REPUTATION IS
DEAD! I WIN! DO YOU HEAR ME? I FUCKING WIN!”
Live My Own Life: How the Housewife Reclaimed Her Empire
Chapter 9
The officers struggled to force the now–rabid Claire into the back of a police car as she continued screaming obscenities.
As I picked up my bag to leave, my phone rang–my PR director, sounding more animated than I’d ever heard her.
“Ms. Sterling! Sterling Global just issued a public statement acknowledging you as the heir and denouncing the photos as complete
fabrications.”
“They’ve stated that anyone continuing to circulate or reference these images will face severe legal consequences. The original
photos have already been scrubbed from most platforms.”
Looking at the official statement on the Sterling Global website, I finally allowed myself to breathe.
Time to pay my grandmother a long–overdue visit.
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