Chapter 2

The moment the words left my mouth, shock rippled through the room. Chloe was not just stunned—she was livid.

She charged straight onto the stage and slapped me across the face with everything she had.

Smack!

"Julian! How dare you twist the truth and slander Logan's name?!"

Veins pulsed along her temples from sheer rage. "People like you are absolute scum of the earth!"

Ignoring the stinging burn on my cheek, I let out a dry, self-deprecating laugh.

"Chloe, have you forgotten? The only reason you're standing at the top today is because of me!"

"And now you hit me for an outsider?"

"Bullshit! Everything I have achieved, every ounce of my success, came from my own talent! What the hell does it have to do with you? Stop trying to deflect!"

I raised my thumb and wiped away the bead of blood at the corner of my lip.

That slap really was loaded with all her fury.

"Fine. Let's not deflect. Let's look at some real, concrete proof."

A second later, the grand doors of the hall swung open again, and a dozen suited security guards flooded inside.

"Julian! What are you doing? Are you so desperate that you're going to use brute force to make us back down?"

Seeing the panic flash across their faces brought a faint, hollow satisfaction to my chest.

At least they still feared my family's weight.

"These are every single blueprint and draft I drew, complete with timestamps and rejected concepts," I declared.

"If you don't believe me, hire handwriting and forensic experts to verify the ink and paper."

"Not only do I have physical copies, but I also have the 3D rendering project files. The metadata and creation logs from my workstation have already been extracted."

With a wave of my hand, the guards moved through the crowd, handing copies of the documents to every prominent guest in the room.

Paper documents might theoretically be questioned, but uncorrupted digital logs with clean metadata didn't lie.

"When Chloe reported me, Logan simply stood behind her and fueled the fire. Neither of them produced a single shred of hard evidence. It was all empty talk, wasn't it? Meanwhile, these files are more than enough to prove my innocence."

Scanning the papers in their hands, the expressions of the veteran designers shifted instantly.

To an original creator, theft was an unforgivable sin.

Chloe had always claimed to feel the same way.

When Logan told her that I had stolen the piece he spent three years crafting specifically to give to her, I had scrambled like a madman trying to prove myself.

I didn't want a single stain to tarnish how she saw me.

Yet watching the glaring contrast in how she treated the two of us, my heart turned entirely cold.

Chloe wasn't disgusted by plagiarism. She was disgusted by me.

She stepped firmly in front of Logan, shielding him. "Julian, I know Logan's character. He would never do something like this."

"You, on the other hand—ever since I found out the truth, you've been manufacturing these fake files to frame him."

With that, she tore the papers in her hands to shreds, tossing the scraps into the air. The white confetti fluttered down between us.

Those torn fragments looked just like our marriage: completely shattered.

"I know what your father is capable of," she snapped. "These cheap parlor tricks won't fool me."

She didn't believe me.

Even when the undeniable truth was laid bare right in front of her eyes, she refused to believe a single word.

Logan threw a quick, gloating smirk my way before turning back to Chloe, instantly adopting his usual fragile, wounded expression.

As if I were the cruel monster bullying him.

"Chloe... thank you for believing in me."

"Maybe... maybe Julian just misunderstood my intentions because that ring was meant as a special gift for you. At the end of the day, it's my fault."

Right in front of my face, Chloe pulled him into her arms, stroking his back gently to soothe him. "None of this is your fault. I promise you, I will make sure you get the justice you deserve!"

Watching the scene unfold before me, a sharp ache tore through my chest.

"Chloe... you would rather believe him than your own husband?"

"What about you is worth believing?" Chloe stepped right up to me, raising her hand to deliver another harsh slap across my face.

"I gave you a chance, Julian. If you keep pushing this, I will personally see to it that you end up in prison. When that happens, not even your father will be able to save you."