Chapter 5 - The Sabotage
Z
By Friday morning, the war had shifted from the courtroom to my professional life.
I stood in the center of my sunlit interior design studio downtown, staring at the chaos unfolding around me. My assistant, Sarah-Jane, was on the phone, her voice shaking as she tried to soothe an angry client.
"I understand, Mrs. Gable... yes, I know... but I assure you Jessica Sterling Design is fully operational..." Sarah-Jane stammered before the line went dead. She looked up at me with wide, panicked eyes. "That was the Gable account, Jessica. They just canceled the five-hundred-thousand-dollar renovation contract for their penthouse. That's the third major client to pull out this morning."
I gripped the edge of my drafting table, my jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached. "What reason did she give?"
"She said she received an anonymous tip that our firm is under federal investigation for financial fraud," Sarah-Jane whispered. "And... and someone posted a dozen fake reviews online overnight, claiming you steal client retainers to cover your personal debts."
Eleanor.
She couldn't defeat me with the forged deed, so she was trying to starve me out. She was using her vast network of high-society contacts to poison my reputation, cut off my cash flow, and destroy the business I had spent a decade building from scratch. If I ran out of money, I couldn't afford Arthur's legal fees, and I would be forced to settle on her terms.
It was a classic corporate execution. Ruthless, calculated, and terrifyingly effective.
Before I could process the loss of the Gable account, the front glass door of my studio swung open with a dramatic chime.
In walked Chloe Montgomery.
She looked entirely different from the sniveling wreck at the gala. She was wearing a tailored white pantsuit, oversized sunglasses, and a smirking expression of absolute triumph. Behind her walked a burly man in a high-visibility vest carrying a clipboard.
"Good morning, Jessica," Chloe purred, stepping into the middle of my showroom and running her manicured nails over a velvet sofa display. "Lovely morning for a fire inspection, isn't it?"
I straightened my posture, stepping around my desk to face her. "Get out of my studio, Chloe. You are trespassing."
"Oh, I'm not trespassing, sweetie," Chloe giggled, taking off her sunglasses to reveal cold, mocking eyes. "This is Officer Miller from the City Building and Safety Department. We received a verified code complaint regarding illegal electrical wiring and unpermitted structural alterations in this building. He’s here to execute an emergency shutdown order."
The man with the clipboard looked uncomfortable, avoiding my eyes. "Ma'am, I have a formal compliance order. We have to shut down power and seal the premises pending a full engineering review. Effective immediately."
I looked from the inspector to Chloe. Eleanor’s reach was even deeper than I thought; she had pulled strings inside the city zoning office to issue a bogus closure order, effectively locking me out of my own office.
"You really think this is going to work, Chloe?" I asked, keeping my voice dangerously quiet. "You think destroying my business buys your mother a way out of prison?"
Chloe stepped right up to me, leaning in close, smelling of expensive floral perfume. "My mother runs this town, Jessica. Did you really think you could embarrass us at the Bellevue and just walk away? You took my necklace. Now we take your livelihood. By next month, you won't be able to afford a apartment, let alone a legal battle for those bratty kids."
My chest heaved with rage, but I forced myself to breathe through my nose. She wanted me to snap. She wanted me to scream, to swing at her, to give her a reason to call the police and file an assault charge against me.
I refused to give her the satisfaction.
"You're right about one thing, Chloe," I said smoothly, forcing a calm, terrifying smile onto my face. "The Bellevue Gala was public. But what happens next is going to be nationwide."
Chloe’s smirk faltered slightly. "What are you talking about?"
I reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and tapped a button. "Sarah-Jane, did you broadcast that live?"
From behind the reception desk, Sarah-Jane held up an iPad. "Streamed directly to our studio’s Instagram page and local news tiplines, Jessica. Over forty thousand people just watched Chloe Montgomery admit to weaponizing city inspectors for a personal vendetta."
Chloe’s face turned white as chalk. She snapped her head toward Sarah-Jane, then back to me. "You... you recorded this?!"
"You Montgomerys never learn, do you?" I chuckled softly, leaning in close to her ear. "You think you're the only ones who know how to play dirty. But you're sloppy, Chloe. You brought a city inspector to a fight against a designer whose best friend is the chief editor of the Bellevue Chronicle."
As if on cue, my phone began to buzz furiously on the table. It was a call from Victoria Vance—Arthur’s daughter and the lead investigative journalist for the regional paper.
"Officer Miller," I turned to the city inspector, whose face was now dripping with sweat. "I suggest you leave this building immediately before my attorney files an official complaint against you personally for corruption under color of authority."
The inspector didn't hesitate. He thrust his clipboard into his bag, turned on his heel, and sprinted out the front door, leaving Chloe standing alone in the middle of my studio.
"You bitch," Chloe spat, her voice trembling with pure hatred.
"Get out of my shop, Chloe," I said, pointing toward the street. "And tell your mother that every time she tries to strike at me, I will tear off another piece of her legacy."
Chloe snatched her designer bag off the counter and stormed out, slamming the door so hard the glass rattled.
I stood in the center of my studio, my heart pounding like a war drum. I had won this round, but the victory was temporary. My revenue was bleeding, my clients were spooked, and the real legal battle hadn't even begun.
I picked up my phone and dialed Arthur.
May you like
"Arthur," I said, staring out the window as rain began to fall again over the city. "We need to hit them where it hurts most. It's time to file for the emergency deposition of Greg and Eleanor."
"I was just typing up the motion, Jessica," Arthur replied, his voice heavy with anticipation. "We go to court on Tuesday. And under oath, they won't be able to hide behind fake reviews or paid inspectors."
