Chapter 5 - The Voice over the WireI didn't hang up. I sat back comfortably in my executive leather chair, looking out at the sunlit Manhattan skyline, my baritone smooth and cold as winter ice.

"Hello, Vincent," I spoke softly.

"Claire... my God, Claire... please don't hang up!" Vincent sobbed through the line, his breath coming in wild, shallow hitches. "I'm at the airport... I'm boarding a jet to New York right now! I'm coming to see you!"

"Don't waste your jet fuel, Vincent," I replied deadpan. "Arthur Sterling has already filed a temporary restraining order with the New York State Supreme Court. If you set foot in this building, security will have you arrested."

"Claire! Listen to me!" Vincent begged, his voice cracking into sharp, pathetic pieces. "I know you found the documents in the wedding frame... I know you know about Julian! I can explain everything! Sophia was blackmailing me, Claire! I didn't love her! I never loved her! I was just trying to protect the family from an indictment!"

A cold, dry smile touched my lips.

"I know you didn't love her, Vincent," I said softly, every word dropped like an iron weight into the phone. "And that makes you even worse."

Vincent went dead silent on the line.

"If you had abandoned me for five years because you loved her," I continued, my voice smooth and razor-sharp, "you would at least be a man following his heart. But you abandoned me, humiliated me, and made me feel like second best for five years... all because you were a coward who didn't want to face a jury."

Vincent let out a loud, shuddering weep over the phone. "Claire... please... I'm dying without you... the house is empty... your clothes are still in the closet... the chocolate cake is still sitting on the kitchen counter..."

"Throw the cake in the trash, Vincent," I commanded softly. "Just like I threw your cufflinks."

"Claire—"

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"Goodbye, Vincent."

I pressed the end button on the console, disconnecting the call forever, block-listing his private satellite line from my corporate server.