The first sound after Olivia Sterling shoved my parents into the pool was laughter.

Later that afternoon, security buzzed my intercom.

“Ms. Evans, there is an Ethan Sterling in the lobby. He’s... quite frantic. Should I call the police?”

I paused, tapping my pen against my desk. Part of me wanted to let him rot. But another part needed closure. “Send him up. But have two guards flank him.”

Minutes later, the elevator doors opened. Ethan stumbled out, looking completely unrecognizable. His hair was unkempt, his designer suit was wrinkled, and the arrogant, composed veneer he always wore was shattered. He looked small.

He saw my office—the sweeping views, the expensive art, the sheer scale of my authority—and his jaw dropped.

“Clara,” he gasped, rushing forward until the guards put their hands on his chest, stopping him. “Clara, please. You have to stop this.”

I didn’t stand up. I just looked at him. “Stop what, Ethan? The consequences of your mother's felonies? Or the consequences of your own cowardice?”

“I didn't know about the embezzlement! I swear!” he pleaded, his voice cracking. “She hid it from me! I’m a victim in this too. Clara, we can fix this. I’ll cut her off. I’ll never speak to my mother again. Just... just lift the freeze. Give me my company back. I love you!”

I let out a harsh, bitter laugh. It echoed in the large office.

“Listen to yourself, Ethan,” I said, shaking my head. “To save your own skin and your precious money, you’re willing to throw your own mother under the bus. You’re willing to abandon the woman who raised you just to get your credit cards turned back on.”

He blinked, confusion warring with desperation. “But... she abused your parents! You hate her!”

“I do despise her,” I agreed. “But my parents mean everything to me. If someone pushed my mother into a pool, I would have burned the world down to protect her. You watched your mother humiliate my family, and you did nothing. Now, you watch your mother face prison, and you offer to abandon her to save your wealth. You don't have loyalty to anyone, Ethan. You only love yourself.”

Ethan’s face crumbled as the realization hit him. There was no manipulation left to play. He had shown me his true colors, and I found them entirely repulsive.

“Escort Mr. Sterling out,” I told the guards, turning my chair back toward the window. “If he returns, have him arrested for trespassing.”