Chapter 89
Finally, after smashing everything she could get her hands on, Chloe calmed down a little — though her chest was still heaving.
Then something came to her. She stumbled into the next room, found her backup phone on the nightstand, and called Mandy with trembling hands.
The phone rang for a long time before anyone picked up.
"You have to help me! Everything's falling apart — people online are tearing me apart, and Benjamin is calling off the engagement."
"I don't know what to do anymore. I'm completely lost..."
"Just calm down!"
Mandy listened to her cry, exhaustion heavy in her voice. "I've got my own problems right now..."
"What problems could you possibly have?!"
Chloe was too caught up in her own spiral to notice anything off about Mandy's tone. "Don't forget — you're part of this too. We're in this together!"
The threat lit a fire in Mandy, and her voice shot up instantly.
"How am I supposed to help you?! I can barely keep my own head above water right now!"
"Alexander somehow found out about everything we did. He froze every bank account in my name, and now I'm basically under house arrest — I can't even step outside!"
"So tell me — how exactly am I supposed to help you?!"
That landed like a bucket of ice water, wiping out the last shred of hope Chloe had been holding onto.
Panic and helplessness sent her over the edge, and she unleashed on Mandy.
"You useless piece of garbage! You're completely worthless!"
"I never should have teamed up with you!"
She didn't give Mandy a chance to respond. She just hung up.
Chloe sank onto the carpet, staring blankly at the wreckage of her living room.
After a long silence, something cold and dangerous crept into her eyes.
She wasn't going down like this. That would only let everyone else win.
If she couldn't count on anyone else, she'd do it herself.
Charlotte, Alexander, Benjamin — every single person who had wronged her. She wasn't letting any of them off the hook.
---
Early the next morning. The Langley Group.
Jason spotted Charlotte coming in and let out a long breath of relief. He hurried over, looking her up and down with concern.
"Are you okay? We all saw the news online — are you..."
"I'm fine."
Charlotte waved it off and settled into her chair. "I know about what's going online. Tell the PR team to keep watching the coverage — don't let it die down."
"Also, bring all the backlogged files from the past few days to my office."
"Got it."
Jason nodded, then hesitated like something had just come back to him. "Oh — a few days ago we got a collaboration offer. They specifically asked for you to handle the design personally, and the fee they're offering is pretty high."
Charlotte had just been through the wringer and had zero energy for new projects.
"Pass. Tell them my schedule is full."
"But..."
Jason paused, then held out an elegant envelope with a slightly awkward look. "They didn't just send a contract — there's also a USB drive. They said to look at what's on it before making a decision."
Charlotte frowned at that, but took it anyway.
She plugged the black USB drive into her computer, and the folder names on the screen made her eyes go sharp.
Johnson Group Subsidiaries — Original Tax Evasion Records
East City Project Bribery Log — Audio Transcripts
Henry's Offshore Asset Transfers — Illegal Activity Details
...
Every title hit like a punch to the gut.
She opened one of the audio files. Henry's voice came through, along with a man she didn't recognize — clearly some kind of official, judging by the conversation. The two of them were haggling over something.
By the time it ended, Charlotte's expression had gone dead serious. This was hard evidence — the kind that could put Henry and the entire Johnson Group behind bars.
"I'll handle this one myself. What are the details?"
Jason checked his notes. "Tonight at nine. The location is... Nightside Bar?"
"A bar?"
Charlotte's brow creased. "They want to talk business at a bar? At night?"
"That's what their assistant said."
Jason nodded, looking just as puzzled. "Apparently their boss likes to talk in a relaxed setting. They also reserved a private room called 'Afterglow.'"
Something about this whole thing felt off to Charlotte.
Whatever was on that USB drive wasn't the kind of thing an ordinary person could get their hands on. And yet here it was, just handed to her.
Was this someone with a grudge against Henry?
She turned it over in her mind, then pressed her lips together and looked back down at the drive.
"Understood. I'll go tonight."
---
Night fell, and the city lights came on.
At exactly nine o'clock, Charlotte drove alone to Nightside Bar.
The moment she pushed open the door, the wall of music and the crowd going wild on the dance floor made her instinctively pull back.
A server led her through the packed main floor and up to the second level, stopping outside a private room at the end of the hall.
Standing at the door, Charlotte steadied herself.
She took a breath and pushed it open.
The room was nothing like she'd expected — quiet, clean, no chaos.
In the dim light, a man sat with his back to the door, a glass of whiskey in his hand, the liquid catching the light in a warm amber glow.
He heard the door and slowly turned around, dark eyes settling on her.
That's when Charlotte noticed the silver half-mask covering his face, leaving only a sharp jaw and a well-defined mouth visible.
"Queen. You actually came." His voice was slightly rough — processed somehow, she guessed, because it gave nothing away. "I've heard a lot about you. Please, sit."
Charlotte closed the door without any visible reaction and took a seat on the couch across from him.
"How did you get what's on that drive? How did you know what I needed? And who are you?"
The man smiled and slid a drink toward her — already mixed.
"Honestly? None of that really matters."
"The fact that you showed up tells me you're open to working together."
"And I'll say this — if I could get my hands on that material, I'm clearly in a position to help you."
Charlotte caught the confidence in his voice. She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked down at the drink. Didn't touch it.
"Why would I trust you?"
"Wasn't the gift I sent enough to show you I'm serious?"
He read her wariness but didn't react much to it — just leaned back into the couch, completely at ease. "The job is straightforward. I want you to design a jewelry piece under your name as Queen. Call it Rebirth."
"In return, I'll hand over everything on that drive — every original file — plus anything else I find on the Johnson family going forward."
"So. What do you say?"