Chapter 9 - Sloane Breaks RankSloane Harrington spent the morning in a suite at the Langham, surrounded by unopened coffee, a shattered compact mirror, and forty-seven missed calls.
Her father had called her reckless.
Her mother had called her embarrassing.
Nolan had not called at all.
That hurt worst.
Not because she loved him.
Because he had used her.
The night before, Nolan’s crisis team had visited her and made everything clear.
She would apologize publicly.
She would accept blame.
She would disappear for six months.
Nolan would reposition himself as the reasonable man caught between a volatile girlfriend and a dangerous investor.
Sloane had agreed because she thought Nolan would protect her afterward.
Now Clara Raines had released the bribery emails, and every news station was asking who paid whom.
Sloane checked her phone again.
A text from Nolan finally appeared.
Stay quiet. Do not make this worse.
She laughed.
It sounded broken.
Then another message appeared.
Unknown number.
He will let you drown alone. I can help you tell the truth. — C.R.
Sloane stared at the initials.
Clara Raines.
For ten minutes, pride wrestled with panic.
Panic won.
That evening, Sloane entered a private room at a quiet restaurant through the kitchen entrance.
Clara was already waiting.
Dominic was not.
That surprised Sloane.
“You came alone?”
Clara sipped water. “You’re less brave around my husband.”
Sloane’s face tightened. “Did you ask me here to humiliate me?”
“No. You did that yourself.”
Sloane almost stood.
Clara placed a folder on the table.
“Nolan is preparing to claim you were unstable, intoxicated, and acting alone.”
Sloane’s eyes flickered.
Clara continued, “He will sacrifice you to save himself.”
Sloane whispered, “Why are you helping me?”
“I’m not. I’m giving you one chance to stop helping him.”
For the first time, Sloane looked less like a villain and more like a woman who had mistaken cruelty for armor.
“What do you want?”
“The truth.”
Sloane looked away.
Then slowly, she opened her purse and removed a flash drive.
“Nolan told me who you were before the gala,” she said.
Clara went still.
“He told me to make you angry. He wanted Dominic to react in public.”
The room seemed to shrink.
Clara’s voice remained calm.
“Why?”
Sloane’s hand trembled.
“Because if Dominic looked dangerous, Nolan could convince the city to block Raines Capital from bidding on the lakefront project.”
May you like
Clara stared at the flash drive.
Sloane whispered, “The dress wasn’t an accident. But it wasn’t only mine.”
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