Chapter 3

Clara called his line five times in a row.

Not a single call went through.

On her sixth attempt, the call disconnected instantly with an automated tone.

He had blocked her number.

Clara's knuckles turned bone-white around her phone.

At that precise moment, Chloe pulled out her own phone to call Julian.

The phone didn't even ring twice before Julian picked up.

He couldn't bear to let her wait a single second. "Chloe? What's wrong?" he asked, his voice thick with tender concern.

"Julian!" Clara forced down the metallic taste of blood rising in her throat and raised her sharp voice with desperation. "Why did you put my hard-earned bonus under Chloe's name?!"

The moment Julian heard Clara's voice, his tone dropped below freezing. "Clara, when is this ridiculous behavior going to end?

"Chloe is an intern. She needs portfolio credits to build her career. You're the future lady of this company.

"Are you seriously fighting an entry-level intern over a line on a resume? Aren't you ashamed of being so petty?"

The words drove into Clara's chest like a jagged blade and opened a raw, bleeding wound.

Swallowing the bitter rage, she held her ground. "I did the work! The money belongs to me!

"If you don't return it to me right now, I will expose this to the entire office! Let's see who will ever respect a fraud who rides coat-tails to the top!"

Julian's deep voice dripped with pure disdain while echoing painfully in her ears.

"Clara, when did you become so cruel? Does pulling down those below you give you a cheap sense of superiority?

"It's just fifty thousand dollars. I didn't realize you were so remarkably greedy." He paused and called out to his assistant in a clipped tone. "Issue Clara a matching bonus."

Even through the phone line, Clara could hear the sheer irritation in his tone.

The condescending tone of a wealthy man throwing a bone to a begging stray.

A burning mist filled her eyes, but she blinked it away fiercely before a single tear could fall.

The transaction cleared shortly after.

With the funds in her account, Clara rushed straight to the funeral home.

On the way, she booked a one-way flight out of the country.

Her flight was scheduled for the day before the wedding.

Looking at the flight confirmation, Clara tried to tell herself she was still fortunate.

At least she had scraped by in time to give her mother a dignified send-off.

However, the moment she pushed open the doors to the storage chamber, the horror made her eyes stretch wide.

The air was thick with a nauseating, overpowering stench of rot.

Her mother's body, which should have been preserved, was bloated and discolored.

Swarms of maggots crawled over the decomposing skin and obscured every recognizable feature.

Her brain went completely numb. She felt as if she was struck by a heavy hammer.

Despite staring at the body, she was unable to process the nightmare before her.

The facility technician walked over, his expression utterly indifferent.

"Ms. Gabriel, we called you three days ago to ask if you wanted the body moved to cold storage. We warned you the summer heat would accelerate decay.

"You told us... she was already dead anyway, and you weren't going to waste money cooling a corpse."

Clara never received a call from the funeral home.

Suddenly, her memories flooded back.

Three days ago, while she was dizzy with exhaustion at her desk, Chloe was busy playing with Clara's phone.

When Clara asked what she was up to, Chloe simply giggled and said she had picked up her device by mistake.

A body in this condition could not have an open-casket viewing. Immediate cremation was the only option.

Clara was denied even the chance to hold a final vigil for her mother.

The woman who raised her was ushered out of this world in filth. Her mother was stripped of every ounce of dignity.

During the cremation process, Clara sobbed until she hyperventilated and almost fell unconscious.

The urn was small.

She tucked it inside her backpack to take it home and set up a private altar for her mother.

The moment she unlocked her front door, she ran straight into Chloe.

The apartment was already filled with Chloe's personal belongings.

Clara's cozy blanket on the sofa had been tossed onto the dirty floor and it had been replaced by Chloe's plush stuffed animals.

Clara's favorite ceramic mug had been swept into the trash bin to make room for a bright pink organizer.

Chloe looked up with a delicate, sweet smile.

"Clara, I'll be staying here for a while. Julian was worried about me renting an apartment on my own.

"He said I should move in here as a perk of the company's employee housing."

Clara's fingers trembled uncontrollably.

It was absurd.

This was the newly renovated home she and Julian were supposed to share after their wedding.

And Julian had casually handed it over as employee lodging?

The shock lasted only a second before Clara strode forward with her eyes razor-sharp.

"Chloe. Did you answer the call from the funeral home?"

Chloe feigned surprise and tapped her chin as if she was trying hard to recall.

"Oh! Right! Clara, you're not mad at me, are you?"

She blinked her eyes with exaggerated innocence.

"You were so busy that day. I was just trying to be thoughtful! I didn't want to distract you from your deadlines.

"Besides, you were so desperate for cash. It was just a dead old woman, letting her rot saves you money anyway!

"You could have just thrown her out in the woods for the wild dogs to eat and saved yourself the cremation fee!"

Chloe's lips curled up into a triumphant, mocking smirk. "Honestly, Clara, you should be thanking me for saving you a fortune."

"Shut your mouth!"

A volcanic surge of fury, guilt, and agonizing pain erupted in Clara's chest!

Her entire body shook violently.

With every ounce of strength left in her, she swung her hand and delivered a deafening slap across Chloe's face!

At that exact moment, the front door was slammed open.

Julian stood on the threshold, his face dark with lethal rage. "Clara! What do you think you're doing?!"

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