After I Left, His Empire Collapsed Chapter 26

After I Left, His Empire Collapsed Chapter 26

I lifted my wrist. Checked the time.

Four p.m. Sharp.

I cleared my throat. Voice cool.

“Dylan.”

“You remember that contract? The one you signed. Sterling & Sterling Group. Three-year deal.”

The line went quiet. Just for a beat.

Then he scoffed.

“What’s this? Getting desperate? Trying to drop Sterling & Sterling’s name to scare me?”

“Vanessa. Who do you think you are? Too late for power plays.”

I ignored the bluster.

“Do the math. Today’s the deadline. Year-two designs. Due for Sterling & Sterling’s review.”

“I expect their termination notice will reach you any moment now.”

“What did you just say?”

His voice cracked. The tiniest fracture.

But he recovered fast. Laughed like I’d said something absurd.

“Termination. Are you insane?”

“Sterling & Sterling. A multinational that size. Taking orders from a fired employee? What do you think you are?”

Sadie chimed in. Fake worry. Dripping condescension.

“Vanessa. Sterling & Sterling is an industry giant. Not even Dylan has met their executives more than a few times.”

“If you reach out to them recklessly, they might ignore you. Which is fine. But if they get angry? The fallout could destroy the company. And the contract.”

Dylan erupted.

“So that’s your angle. Sabotage. You want to poison our relationship with Sterling & Sterling.”

“Vanessa. That’s vicious. Truly.”

Then he caught himself. Smug again.

“But you miscalculated. I’ve already notified every company in this industry. You’ve been fired. Blacklisted.”

“Try to cause trouble. Shift blame. Make the company clean up your mess. It won’t work.”

“Now. Your files. Your new employer’s details. Hand them over. I might still show mercy. Let you crawl back. Toss you scraps.”

The condescension was staggering. And so, so ignorant.

“Sterling & Sterling won’t listen to me,” I said. “You’re right about that.”

“They’ll only look at the designs.”

“Designs you don’t have.”