Chapter 2

A few days later, Bella showed up at Chloe' s apartment, Leo trailing behind her like a shadow. He had an arm wrapped protectively around Bella' s shoulders, his expression a carefully constructed mix of concern and righteous anger. It was a pathetic performance, and Chloe saw right through it.

"Chloe, we need to talk," Bella began, her voice quivering as if she were on the verge of tears. "What you did was cruel. You can' t just cut me off like that. I have rights."

"You have no rights," Chloe stated flatly, blocking the doorway. "You signed the papers. Mr. Harrison has a copy, as do I. You legally relinquished any and all claims to family assets."

"I was under duress!" Bella cried. "You tricked me!"

Leo stepped forward, his voice smooth and placating. "Chloe, this has all been a misunderstanding. Bella is just emotional. All we' re asking for is her fair share. The money from the house, half of the company shares. It' s only right."

Chloe almost laughed. "Her fair share? The share she was going to use to fund your lifestyle while I worked myself to the bone to save our father' s legacy? The share she was going to get by destroying the very company that generated the wealth in the first place?"

She pulled a folder from the small table by the door and thrust it into Bella' s hands. "This is a copy of the disassociation agreement you signed. It' s legally binding. This is a copy of the bill for the damages you caused in my office, which has been sent to you. And this," she added, pulling out a single sheet of paper, "is a restraining order. If you or your... associate... come within 500 feet of me, my home, or my office again, you will be arrested."

Bella stared at the papers, her face turning pale. The legal jargon was indecipherable to her, but the words "restraining order" were clear enough. The reality of her situation was finally starting to sink in. She had no leverage, no power, nothing.

"You can' t do this!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with hysteria. She threw the papers on the ground. "I hate you! I wish you were dead!"

She lunged forward, trying to push past Chloe into the apartment, her nails outstretched. Chloe sidestepped her easily, causing Bella to stumble and fall into a decorative vase in the hallway, shattering it.

"You' re destroying property again, Bella," Chloe said, her voice dangerously calm. She already had her phone in her hand.

Leo grabbed a panicked Bella by the arm, pulling her back. "Let' s go, honey. She' s not worth it." He shot Chloe a look of pure venom before dragging a sobbing Bella toward the elevator.

Chloe watched them go, her expression unreadable. She didn't feel triumph, only a cold, hard resolve. She picked up the shattered pieces of the vase and dropped them into the trash. Then she made another call.

The person she hired was a private investigator, a discreet and highly effective man named Marcus. He was expensive, but worth every penny. Chloe' s instructions were simple: follow Bella and Leo. Document everything. She wanted to know where they went, who they met, what they spent money on. She also had him install state-of-the-art listening devices in her own office-a precaution against any future attempts at sabotage.

It didn' t take long for Marcus to deliver. A week later, he sent her a file containing photos and audio recordings. The pictures showed Bella and Leo meeting with a man Chloe recognized instantly: Arthur Vance, the CEO of a rival architecture firm and the man widely suspected of being behind the smear campaign that destroyed her father.

Vance had been a junior partner at her father' s firm before leaving under a cloud of suspicion. He had always been jealous of her father' s talent.

The audio recording was even more damning. It was from a bug Marcus had managed to plant in Leo' s car.

"...Vance is getting impatient," Leo' s voice said. "He wants the new project schematics. He said if we deliver, there' s a fifty-thousand-dollar bonus in it for us."

"How are we supposed to get them?" Bella whined. "Chloe won' t even let me near the office. She has a restraining order!"

"Leave that to me," Leo said soothingly. "I have a plan. We just need to find a way to get you back into her good graces. You' ll have to cry a little more, maybe fake an apology. She' s still your sister, deep down. She' s got a soft spot for you."

A cold fury settled in Chloe' s chest as she listened. They really thought she was that stupid, that weak. They had no idea who they were dealing with now.

The recording triggered another memory from her past life, a memory she had suppressed. She remembered a major project, a commission that would have put the company back on the map. It was a complex and innovative design, one she and her father had worked on together before he died. A week before the final presentation, the entire project file had been corrupted.

The backup drives were mysteriously wiped. They lost the bid. At the time, she had thought it was a technical glitch, a terrible stroke of bad luck. Now, she knew better. She remembered Bella had been in the office late that night, supposedly to "help" her organize files. She had brought Chloe coffee, fussing over how tired she looked. It was all a lie. Bella had destroyed it. She had sold their future for a pittance from Arthur Vance.

The pieces all clicked into place. The sabotage, the betrayals, it had all been orchestrated by Vance, with Leo as his puppet master and Bella as his willing pawn. The pain of that memory was sharp, but it didn't weaken her. It hardened her. It fueled the fire of her resolve.

A few days later, her phone rang. It was an unknown number. She answered, putting it on speaker.

"Chloe? It' s me, Bella." Her sister' s voice was small and broken, full of manufactured remorse. "I... I' m so sorry. For everything. Leo was a mistake. He was using me. I see that now. Please, Chloe. I have nowhere else to go. Can I just... can I just come home?"

Chloe listened to the pathetic, rehearsed apology. She could hear the coaching in Bella' s voice, the insincerity in every word. In her past life, she might have believed it. She might have opened her arms and welcomed the serpent back into her house.

This time, she knew it was a trap. It was Leo' s plan, the one she' d heard on the recording. They wanted to get Bella back inside so she could steal the new project schematics for Vance.

A slow, cold smile spread across Chloe' s face. They thought they were setting a trap for her. They had no idea they were walking right into hers.

"Of course, Bella," Chloe said, her voice full of a warmth she did not feel. "Come home. We' re family, after all."

On the other end of the line, she could almost hear the silent cheer from Leo. Let them think they' d won. Let them get comfortable. The bigger their confidence, the harder their fall would be.