Chapter 7 - The Confrontation
I turned away from Eleanor and walked directly toward the heavy steel door of the wine cellar.
I punched my master code into the electronic keypad, and the heavy deadbolt disengaged with a loud, mechanical clunk.
I grabbed the heavy iron handle and pulled the thick door completely open.
A wave of warm, stale air flooded out of the cellar, carrying the distinct scent of spilled wine and sheer panic.
Marcus stumbled out immediately, blinking aggressively against the bright lights of the lounge.
His hair was completely disheveled, and his shirt was covered in dark red wine stains from the bottles he had smashed.
Chloe followed right behind him, keeping her head down, crying pathetically into her hands.
Marcus froze the absolute second he saw his mother, his brother, and his two corporate colleagues standing in the room.
His arrogant face crumpled into a mask of pure, unadulterated terror.
"Mom?" Marcus choked out, looking frantically back and forth between his family and me.
"Greg? Thomas? What... what are you all doing down here?"
"We are enjoying the anniversary surprise, Marcus," I stated loudly, gesturing toward the massive screen that was still broadcasting their empty cage.
"You really put on quite the romantic show for us all."
Marcus dropped to his knees right there on the concrete floor, ignoring his stunned colleagues completely.
"Clara, please, I swear to God it meant absolutely nothing!" he begged, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks.
"It was a massive mistake, she threw herself at me, I was just stressed from work!"
Chloe gasped loudly, looking at the man she had risked everything for in absolute, heartbroken betrayal.
"You told me you loved me!" Chloe screamed at him, her voice cracking violently.
"You told me Clara was a cold, heartless bitch and that you were going to divorce her for me!"
"Shut up, you stupid girl!" Eleanor suddenly shrieked at Chloe, rushing forward to fiercely protect her golden son.
"Don't you dare speak to him like that, you are nothing but a common maid!"
The sheer chaos in my basement was exactly like a scene ripped straight from a terrible soap opera.
I stood completely still in my crimson dress, watching them tear each other apart like wild dogs fighting over a bone.
"Silence!" I yelled, my voice cutting through the chaotic screaming like a razor-sharp blade.
They all immediately stopped shouting, turning to look at me with wide, fearful eyes.
"Marcus, you are a pathetic, weak coward who blames everyone else for his own disgusting failures," I declared coldly.
"And Chloe, you are a foolish, gullible little girl who thought she could steal a luxury life instead of working for it."
I looked down at my husband, who was still kneeling on the floor, looking up at me with desperate, pleading eyes.
"Get up, Marcus," I commanded him, pointing a perfectly manicured finger directly at the staircase.
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"Because it is time for the final part of your anniversary present."
