"This is absurd!" Julia snapped, her face twisting into an ugly, furious scowl as her chest heaved with frantic, ragged breaths. "I'm not paying him a single cent for some ridiculous, made-up algorithm! He was just a worthless delivery driver! I am not giving him twenty million dollars!" ​"You can pay now," the first high-powered lawyer said, his voice remaining smooth, calm, and completely unbothered by her explosive outburst. He adjusted his sleek glasses, looking down at her with professional indifference. "You can sign a revised settlement right here today that reflects the actual, real numbers—or we can immediately escalate this matter to full litigation in federal court. That process will take considerably longer, cost your company considerably more in legal defense fees, and generate considerably more public interest in Apex Media's current ongoing corporate and financial troubles." ​The lawyer paused, letting that last part land with a sharp, deliberate weight right in the m

The guard, caught completely between Harry's calm, unwavering insistence and Fiona's clearly familiar, high-society confident tone, hesitated for a long second. He looked back and forth between Harry's simple attire and Fiona's expensive designer coat, feeling an intense wave of awkward uncertainty. Slowly, he shifted his heavy frame and stepped directly in front of Harry, blocking his path toward the shiny elevator bank.​"Sir, I'm going to need you to wait right here while we confirm everything with the top floor," the guard grunted, trying his best to sound authoritative while wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.​"I already told you," Harry said, his patience thinning slightly as his deep voice echoed off the polished granite counter, "I have a scheduled appointment with Miss Priscilla. Call up and confirm it right now, if you really need to."​"With that face?!" Fiona chimed in loudly, practically beaming with pure delight as she rested her manicured hand on her hip, clearly

​Priscilla tried to speak up and defend herself, her face turning pale with frustration, but Julia was having far too much fun torturing her in public.​In reality, Julia didn't feel any real jealousy or genuine heartbreak deep down in her heart—after all, she had been more than happy to throw away a useless, penniless man like Harry. In whose lap he ended up falling now didn't matter to her in the slightest. He was just trash she had discarded into the gutter.​The only single thing truly bothering her, burning like a fiery hot iron deep inside her gut, was that Harry was legally taking twenty-one million dollars of her money through that patent and investment settlement! He wasn't suffering on the streets like a stray dog, exactly as she had wanted and prayed he would suffer! He was supposed to be crawling back to her, begging for scraps! So, to make up for that massive financial loss and her wounded pride, she wanted to torture him and ruin his reputation properly right in front of

"You've been waiting for this — waiting for me to fail, so you could swoop back in and take him for yourself, playing the perfect loyal friend this whole time while you—"​Julia's voice trailed off into a frantic, ragged gasp as her wild eyes darted down toward the white tablecloth beside her. Her hand closed around the heavy handle of a steak knife still resting on the table, her knuckles turning stark white as her fingers gripped the polished steel. Pure, unhinged venom surged through her veins, blinding her to every single person watching in the room.​"Julia—" Priscilla's eyes widened in sudden, horrifying realization, her breath catching violently in her throat as she stepped back instinctively into the table behind her.​But Julia was already lunging forward with a desperate, hysterical scream, the sharp blade catching the warm candlelight for one sharp, terrible second as it sliced through the air straight toward Priscilla!​Harry moved first. With lightning-fast instincts hone

Back at the Sterling residence, the heavy atmosphere inside the living room felt completely suffocating.​Julia had just finished recounting the entire embarrassing disaster at the restaurant to her mother and brother—every single agonizing detail. She paced across the plush rug, her voice shaking with rage as she described the bitter public confrontation with Priscilla, her father Darius Levine’s ruthless public dressing-down in front of high society, the terrifying moment with the steak knife, and their humiliating removal by security guards right out the front doors.​When her furious rant finally came to an end, the silence that followed in the massive room had sharp, terrifying teeth in it.​"So let me understand this situation correctly," Rosalie said, her arms crossed tight over her chest as her voice began climbing in pitch with every single word she uttered. Her face was twisted into a mask of pure, bitter disbelief. "He's the one who should be utterly humiliated in public! H