Two days later, I walked down the dimly lit hallway of the federal holding facility in downtown Manhattan. The smell of cold concrete and industrial floor cleaner filled the air. A guard unlocked a heavy metal door, letting me into a small visitor room divided by a thick pane of plexiglass.
Julian sat on the other side of the glass, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. His hair was messy, his eyes were bloodshot, and his posture was completely slumped over. He looked ten years older than he had at the gala three nights ago.
He picked up the small plastic phone receiver with a trembling hand as I sat down across from him.
Julian: You came to laugh at me, didn't you?
Clara: I came to give you these papers, Julian.
I slid a stack of legal documents through the small slot at the bottom of the glass divider.
Julian: What is this? More lawsuits?
Clara: It's the foreclosure notice for your mansion in Greenwich, the repossession agreement for your private jet, and the official bankruptcy filing for your father's estate.
Julian stared at the papers, his jaw tightening as tears of frustration welled up in his eyes.
Julian: You took everything from me, Clara! My money, my home, my family's reputation... everything!
Clara: You took those things from yourself the moment you decided to steal from my family and leave me for dead on the side of the road three years ago.
Julian: It was an accident! I was panicked after the car crashed! I was scared I would lose my driver's license!
Clara: You left me in a burning car so you wouldn't ruin your reputation, Julian. You didn't care if I lived or died.
Julian: I paid your medical bills anonymously! I made sure you had the best surgeons for your face!
Clara: You paid those bills using my father's life insurance payout that you stole from my bank account! You used my own money to buy your way out of guilt!
Julian slammed his fist against the plexiglass wall, causing the guard near the door to take a step forward with his hand on his holster.
Julian: I loved you, Clara! We were going to get married!
Clara: You never loved me, Julian. You loved my father's business, and you loved the power it gave you. But that power was built on a lie, and now the lie is over.
Julian: Please... talk to the prosecutor, Clara. Tell them to drop the grand larceny charge. I can't survive twenty years in a maximum security facility!
I leaned in closer to the glass, looking into his eyes with the exact same cold indifference I had shown him on the ballroom floor.
Clara: You're going to serve every single day of your sentence, Julian. And every time you look in the mirror in that cell, I want you to remember the woman you thought you could crush.
I hung up the plastic phone receiver, stood up from the metal stool, and turned my back on him. Julian banged his fists against the glass, screaming my name until the heavy metal door shut behind me, blocking out his desperate cries for good.