Chapter 8 - The Reality of "Nothing to Offer"
I opened the leather portfolio that Arthur had prepared and slid it across the table directly in front of Darius.
“Let’s discuss your stellar performance at Apex Logistics,” I said, leaning forward. “You told my board that you left to pursue ‘greater executive challenges.’ But according to the certified audit from the Department of Transportation and Apex’s internal board records, you were terminated for gross negligence and willful falsification of logistics logs.”
Darius stared at the documents, his face turning an ashen grey. “Where… where did you get this?”
“I am the CEO of the largest supply chain infrastructure firm in the region, Darius,” I said flatly. “Did you honestly think I wouldn't conduct a forensic background check on a candidate applying for a half-million-dollar executive seat?”
I flipped the page. “You caused Apex $14 million in supply line failures. You forced junior staff to forge delivery timestamps to trigger your quarterly performance bonus. You left their logistics division in utter ruins. And when they fired you, you maxed out high-interest credit lines to maintain a luxury lifestyle for you and Jasmine Carter.”
Hearing Jasmine’s name made Darius flinch as if struck by a whip.
“Claire, please,” Darius begged, his voice shaking violently as tears of humiliation pooled in his eyes. “I made mistakes! I was under immense pressure! Apex was toxic—they set me up to take the fall! You know me, Claire! You know how hard I work!”
“I do know you, Darius,” I replied, my gaze unyielding. “I know that when I stood before you at nine months pregnant, carrying your child, you looked at my body with disgust and told me I brought nothing to the table.”
“I was an idiot! I was blind!” Darius cried out, throwing his hands out in desperation. “I was manipulated by Jasmine! She poisoned my mind against you! She made me believe that we needed to project an image of luxury to succeed! I swear to you, Claire, leaving you was the biggest regret of my life!”
“Was it?” I asked with a cold, mocking tilt of my head. “Because if I recall correctly, you handed me your new marriage license on the exact same morning you finalized our divorce. You seemed quite eager for your ‘fresh start’ back then.”
Darius looked down at his trembling hands, completely cornered. There was no lie left to tell, no corporate buzzword that could save him.
“You told me I had zero connections, zero career, and zero wealth,” I continued, my voice echoing off the glass walls. “You believed that without you, I would drown. But while you were busy spending money you didn't have to impress people who didn't care about you, I was here—scaling this empire from $40 million to over $100 million.”
Marcus Reed leaned forward, looking at Darius with pure revulsion. “Mr. Ellis, on behalf of the executive committee, your application is formally rejected. Furthermore, based on the documented fraud in your past employment, Vance Group will be submitting a formal notice of non-compliance to the National Freight Board.”
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Darius’s eyes widened in horror. That meant he would never work in logistics again—not in Ohio, not anywhere in the country.
“Claire, no!” Darius screamed, lunging forward across the table. “You can’t do this to me! You’ll destroy me! We share a child! You can’t leave the father of your son on the streets!”
