Chapter 3 - The Excision
"Eloise, please," Thaddeus hissed, his voice dropping into a desperate, frantic whisper. He reached out to grab the papers, but I pulled them back. "Not in front of them."
"Why not?" I asked, looking directly at Gideon, Silas, Callie, and Saraphina. "You were just telling them how 'useful' I am. I think your friends deserve to know exactly how useful. Like the fact that I paid the seventy-thousand-dollar settlement to keep you out of jail when you embezzled from your last startup. Or the fact that the black Amex you've been flashing tonight is in my name, and the primary cardholder just reported it stolen."
Thaddeus’s jaw actually dropped. "You canceled the cards?"
"Every single one," I stated. "And the Beacon Hill apartment? The lease was up for renewal today. I signed a new lease for a one-bedroom near the hospital. Your bags are currently sitting with the doorman. You have absolutely nothing, Thaddeus. Not a dollar, not a home, and certainly not a wife."
Silas cleared his throat, suddenly looking anywhere but at Thaddeus. "Look, man," Silas muttered, adjusting his expensive watch. "I think we should probably go. This is a family matter."
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"Yeah, optics aren't great here," Gideon added, already sliding his chair back, distancing his PR agency from the radioactive disaster sitting next to him.
They didn't care about Thaddeus. They cared about the money, the status, and the illusion. The second the illusion shattered, so did their loyalty.
