Chapter 5

The final meeting for the milestone agreement was set for Wednesday morning.

I arrived ten minutes early.

Julian was already there.

And to my surprise, Celeste was too.

She was wearing a soft beige knit sweater today, sitting next to Julian like she owned the place.

"Good morning, Chloe," Celeste greeted me.

I ignored her and sat down.

"Let’s begin," I said to Julian.

Julian slid a thick folder toward me.

"Chloe, this is the final version of the agreement."

"Take a look. If everything's fine, sign on the last page."

I flipped through the document.

The first few pages were standard.

But I flipped straight to the final page where the equity structure was listed.

Just as I thought.

My share of the company had been diluted from forty percent to fifteen percent.

And Julian now had a new holding company under his name called "Starry Ventures," which held twenty-five percent.

I looked up.

"What is this?" I pointed at the line.

Julian cleared his throat, avoiding my gaze.

"Chloe, for the company to grow, we need to bring in new strategic partners."

"Starry Ventures will bring in massive PR resources and connections in the wellness market."

"Celeste set this up for us."

I looked at Celeste.

She looked entirely earnest.

"Chloe, in today's market, hard tech isn't enough anymore."

"Emotional value is the real currency."

"My resources will help build a completely new brand identity for the company."

"Diluting your shares is just to make the overall pie bigger. It benefits everyone."

I stared at her coldly.

"You're a fake therapist without a license. And you're talking to me about making the pie bigger?"

Celeste’s face fell.

Julian slammed his hand on the table.

"Chloe! Watch your mouth!"

"Celeste is trying to help us! Don't bring your personal drama into business!"

"Personal drama?" I slammed the document back onto the table.

"You're taking the equity we built together to please your new mistress."

"And you call that business?"

Julian stood up.

"Chloe, stop being unreasonable!"

"You haven't contributed a thing to this company for the past two weeks. I've been carrying the whole weight!"

"Your mental state right now makes you unfit to be a major shareholder!"

"You're signing this agreement, whether you like it or not!"

He pulled another document from his drawer.

"If you don't sign, this 'Mental Health Medical Leave Consent' will be sent to the entire company."

"The board will vote to remove you from your position."

"Celeste has drafted a professional psychological evaluation proving you suffer from severe paranoia and obsessive-control tendencies."

I looked at the so-called evaluation report.

It was stamped with the "Celeste Therapy" logo.

So this was their trump card.

Using a fake diagnosis of mental illness to strip me of my power.

Celeste slid a pen toward me.

"Chloe, let go of your obsession."

"Admitting you're sick is nothing to be ashamed of."

"Julian is doing this to protect you. He just wants you to rest."

She looked at me, her eyes filled with the smug pity of a victor.

Julian stood with his arms crossed.

"Sign it, Chloe."

"Fifteen percent is more than enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life."

"Let's end this with some dignity."

The conference room was dead silent.

I looked at the Parker pen lying in front of me.

Its metallic tip gleamed under the fluorescent lights.

They thought they had me cornered.

They thought that to save whatever dignity I had left, I would have no choice but to comply.

I slowly reached out and picked up the pen.

Julian’s shoulders visibly relaxed.

A tiny, triumphant smirk appeared on Celeste's lips.

I uncapped the pen.

I pointed the tip at the signature line.

"Once you sign, you can move back to our old apartment," Julian said, his tone sounding like a charitable donation. "I'll have someone clean it up for you."

I stopped writing.

I looked up at Julian.

"Do you really think you've won?"