Chloe: Trash disposal?! You think I'm trash?!
Daniel: You insulted my work, my family, and my dignity in front of my employees, Chloe.
Chloe: What employees?! There's nobody here!
Two men in blue work uniforms stepped out from the back office room, holding clipboards and digital diagnostic meters.
Lead Mechanic: Press release is live on the wire, Boss. Stock price for Sterling Tech just jumped eighteen percent.
Daniel: Good work, Marcus. Lock up the main bay when you're done testing the prototype engine.
Lead Mechanic: Will do, Mr. Sterling. And congratulations on the buyout deal.
Chloe stared at the two men, her mouth open in disbelief as she realized the garage was a research facility.
Chloe: This whole place... this whole garage was a test lab?
Daniel: We developed the high-efficiency battery casing right here in Bay 3, Chloe. The same casing that major automakers just bought for millions.
Victoria: Chloe... you threw away a billionaire...
Chloe: Mom, shut up! Just shut up!
Samantha: Here is the pen, Mrs. Vance. Sign the settlement waiver or leave the premises immediately.
Chloe snatched the pen from Samantha's hand, pressing the paper against the hood of a broken motorcycle as she scribbled her signature in jagged, furious lines.
Chloe: There! I signed it! Are you happy now, Daniel?!
Daniel: Relieved, Chloe. Not happy, just relieved.
Samantha took the signed document, checking the signature carefully before tucking it into her leather folder.
Samantha: The wire for fifty thousand dollars will be processed within twenty-four hours. Good day, ladies.
Daniel turned toward the open glass doors of the garage, walking toward the waiting limousine with steady, calm steps.
Chloe: Daniel! Look at me! Look at me one last time!
Daniel stopped near the back door of the limousine, turning his head slightly to look back at his ex-wife.
Daniel: I hope the fifty thousand was worth your dignity, Chloe.
Chloe: I made a mistake! Every couple fights!
Daniel: A fight is about solving a problem. What you did was show me how much you despised me when you thought I had nothing.
Daniel stepped into the quiet interior of the limousine, the heavy door clicking shut behind him with a firm, solid thud.
The dark car pulled smoothly away from the curb, leaving Chloe and Victoria standing on the grimy concrete driveway in their ruined formal dresses.
Victoria: Fifty thousand dollars... that won't even pay off your credit card debt from the honeymoon!
Chloe: Shut up, Mom! Just shut up!
Chloe dropped to her knees on the dirty sidewalk, sobbing hysterically as she stared at the dirty diamond ring in her hand.