Chapter 153 Chapter 153
Chapter 153 Chapter 153
Chloe’s POV
The prison smelled of rust and regret.
Cold concrete. Metal bars. Echoing footsteps. It was nothing like the polished boardrooms Jack once strutted through as though he owned the world.
I wore a simple fitted dress and dark sunglasses even though the sun barely touched the interior visiting area. Not because I needed to hide.
Because I wanted to look untouchable.
The officer escorted me to the visitor section. A thick glass partition separated inmates from visitors. A phone rested on each side.
When they brought him in, I almost didn’t recognize him.
Jack looked thinner. The arrogance in his posture had dulled, replaced by something harsher. His hair was shorter. His jaw shadowed with uneven stubble. The prison uniform hung stiffly on his frame.
Orange suited him.
He saw me and froze.
Then his lips curved slowly.
“Chloe,” he muttered as he picked up the phone on his side.
I lifted mine.
“You clean up nicely,” I said sweetly. “The uniform fits you. Really brings out your… desperation.”
His jaw tightened.
“You came all the way here just to stare at me?” he sneered.
“I came to see how prison life was treating you,” I replied calmly. “You look comfortable.”
He leaned closer to the glass.
“You think this is permanent?” he hissed. “You think this is over?”
“It is for you,” I answered.
His eyes dropped to my body. They lingered too long.
“You always liked attention,” he said darkly. “Still dressing like that for men?”
I laughed softly.
“You’re in prison and you’re still talking about my clothes?”
“You’re mine,” he snapped suddenly, his voice rising. “You always were.”
The possessiveness in his tone made my skin crawl.
“I was never yours,” I said coldly. “You couldn’t even keep your own life together.”
His hand slammed against the glass.
“You slept with my father,” he spat. “You got pregnant for him.”
“And?” I replied evenly. “That bothers you more than being exposed as a criminal?”
His breathing grew heavier.
“You think he loves you?” Jack sneered. “He’ll get bored. He always does.”
I tilted my head slightly.
“At least I was worth remembering,” I said quietly.
That hit.
His expression darkened instantly.
“He forgot you once,” he shot back. “Don’t forget that.”
I held his gaze.
“And he remembered me,” I said softly. “You, on the other hand, he never truly knew.”
Jack’s knuckles turned white around the phone.
“You ruined my life,” he growled.
“You ruined your own,” I replied.
Silence stretched between us.
For a moment, I saw it clearly. The boy who had always been insecure. Always competing. Always trying to prove something.
Now he had nothing left to prove.
“You look good in orange,” I added lightly. “It matches the fire you tried to burn me with.”
“You think this is funny?” he barked.
“I think it’s fitting.”
He leaned closer again, his voice dropping to something dirtier.
“You still think about me,” he muttered. “You always will.”
I felt irritation rise, sharp and immediate.
“Delusion looks ugly on you,” I said.
“You can’t erase me,” he insisted. “You liked it. You liked the way I touched you.”
My jaw tightened.
“That part of my life died the day you paid to unplug my sister,” I said coldly.
His face shifted for a second. Not guilt.
Anger.
“You can’t prove that,” he muttered.
“The court did,” I answered calmly.
The guard tapped the wall behind him, signaling time.
Jack’s eyes burned into mine one last time.
“This isn’t finished,” he whispered.
“It is,” I replied.
I hung up the phone before he could speak again.
As I stood up, I did not look back.
The echo of the metal door closing behind him was loud.
Final.
For the first time, I did not feel fear walking away from Jack.
I felt relief.
And power.
The women’s correctional facility was quieter.
Colder.
There was no arrogance in the air here. Only tension and faded pride.
I walked through the security checks without hesitation. The guards recognized my name immediately. Some of them looked at me with curiosity. Others with something closer to respect.
Margaret had once walked into rooms with cameras flashing and people scrambling to please her.
Now she has her inmate number stamped onto a uniform.
They led me into the visitation area.
She was already seated when I walked in.
Her posture was still upright. Her chin lifted. Even in prison clothing, she tried to look composed. But the fine lines around her mouth had deepened. The confidence she once wore like perfume was cracked.
When she saw me, her eyes narrowed.
I sat down slowly across from her and picked up the phone.
She picked hers up immediately.
“You have nerves,” she said flatly.
I looked her over deliberately.
“Life suits you,” I replied. “It’s simpler. No board meetings to manipulate.”
Her jaw tightened.
“You think you won?” she asked.
“I didn’t come here to gloat,” I said calmly.
“That’s exactly why you’re here.”
I let a small smile touch my lips.
“I came to see the woman who called me a slut in her own company hallway,” I said. “I wanted to see how that same mouth survives prison food.”
Her eyes flashed.
“You destroyed my marriage.”
“You destroyed it long before I existed,” I answered.
She leaned forward slightly.
“You seduced my husband.”
“Your husband seduced me,” I corrected. “And then he chose me.”
The silence between us grew sharp.
“You got pregnant intentionally,” she said.
I laughed softly.
“You really think I would choose chaos like that?”
“You trapped him,” she insisted.
“No,” I said evenly. “I loved him.”
Her lips curled.
“You’ll never be respected the way I was.”
“Respect built on fraud collapses,” I replied.
She studied my face carefully, searching for weakness.
“He will get tired of you,” she said quietly. “Men like Drake don’t change.”
“He already has,” I said.
Margaret’s fingers tightened around the phone.
“You think giving birth makes you superior?” she spat.
“No,” I said calmly. “Truth does.”
Her breathing grew heavier.
“You took everything from me.”
“I took nothing,” I replied. “You lost everything because you thought you were untouchable.”