Chapter 7
As the driver stepped out to open the door for Meredith, Vanessa came rushing out of the front doors, pushing past a devastated Ethan and a hyperventilating Judith.
"Meredith, wait!" Vanessa cried out, her mint-green gown trailing behind her. The arrogance was completely gone, replaced by desperate sycophancy. "Meredith, please! He forced me into it! He told me he was leaving you, that you were crazy!"
Ethan snapped his head toward Vanessa, betrayal flashing in his eyes. "What are you doing, you stupid girl?"
"I'm surviving, Ethan!" Vanessa shrieked back at him before turning her pleading eyes to Meredith. "I can tell you everything, Meredith. All his offshore accounts, the bribes he paid... I have proof!"
Meredith paused with her hand on the open car door. She looked at Vanessa, taking in the platinum-blonde hair, the desperate, pleading eyes, and the sheer pathetic nature of her betrayal.
"I already have the proof, Vanessa," Meredith said coldly. "And I don't negotiate with trash."
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Vanessa recoiled as if she had been slapped. Ethan let out a hollow, bitter laugh, realizing that the woman he had thrown his marriage away for was ready to sell him out in less than a minute.
"Meredith, please," Ethan said, his voice suddenly breaking. The anger had evaporated, leaving only a terrified, broken man. "We can talk about this. We're husband and wife."
