Chapter 4: The Sound of Closing Doors
The showroom grew deathly quiet. The other employees stopped their work, watching the tableau. Clara’s breath came in shallow, panicked gasps. She looked for a way out, a loophole, a shred of the status she had held only minutes ago.
"You can't do this," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I’ve given my life to this place. I’ve made you millions!"
"You made yourself comfortable at the expense of my reputation," Julian retorted. He motioned to the entrance. Two uniformed police officers stepped through the glass doors, their presence final and absolute. The security guard, the one Clara had ordered to toss Maria out, now stood by the door, ready to escort someone else entirely.
May you like
"You just spent your last day at this store," Julian declared. "The security guard is already outside, and my lawyer is filing a lawsuit for the funds you’ve stolen. Don't bother gathering your personal effects; everything you own here is now evidence."
Clara looked at Maria. She expected pity, or perhaps a moment of triumph. But Maria simply looked at her with the same calm kindness she had held before—the look one gives a child who has fallen and scraped their knee. It was a look of profound, detached disappointment. That look hurt more than the handcuffs that were now being retrieved.
