The Emptied Apartment

Valerie stepped out of the suffocating hospital lobby, the heavy glass doors sliding shut behind her to cut off the sterile scent of antiseptic. Her phone vibrated against her palm, buzzing relentlessly in a steady, demanding rhythm. The caller ID flashed Miriam's name on the bright screen. Valerie ignored the first three calls, letting them ring out into the void of her voicemail. The device went quiet for a few seconds before lighting up again, the harsh vibration jarring her tired nerves. Deep down, she knew her mother would never give up. The phone would ring until the battery died.

Valerie pressed the answer button and brought the speaker to her ear.

"Valerie, the Vance family is rapidly yanking their investment and every single partnership is getting axed! Are you satisfied now?" Miriam's unhinged rage poured through the tiny speaker, her voice shrill enough to make Valerie wince.

Valerie tightened her grip on the phone, staring out at the grey pavement. The traffic roared past on the busy street, mimicking the chaos echoing in her ear. Miriam’s wild, cutting insults were par for the course by now, but the sheer volume of her panic was grating.

"Easy for you to stay silent! Just let them bail? Have you even considered the fallout of this little stunt? What about the tens of thousands of employees at Thorne Group? Do you think they do not have families to feed? You are ruining countless lives with your selfishness!" Miriam shrieked.

The harsh words landed heavy on Valerie's chest. She stood frozen on the sidewalk, absorbing the no-holds-barred blame pouring through the receiver. Miriam used the livelihood of those innocent workers as emotional ammunition, firing bullet after bullet of guilt straight into her daughter's heart. Valerie pictured the tens of thousands of Thorne Group employees sitting in their cubicles, unaware that their jobs were on the chopping block. The weight of their futures pressed down on her shoulders. She knew fighting back would only fuel the fire. If Miriam did not get this out of her system right here and now, the upcoming days would be endless, unbearable torment. Valerie let the rant wash over her, a dull ache pressing into her ribs. Finally, Miriam's voice cracked, dissolving into frantic, heartbroken sobs.

"I will figure out the money somehow, Mom. I will talk to you later." Valerie spoke quietly, her tone exhausted but resolute.

She ended the call and pulled up the latest financial briefings on her phone. A quick scan confirmed the brutal reality. The Vance family funds were already being pulled out in a coordinated, aggressive sweep. Shared projects were bleeding out, and investors were backing away. Valerie locked the screen, seeing Dominic's financial move for exactly what it was. It was a calculated, tyrannical attempt to corner her. He wanted to break her down, starve her resources, and force her into submission. He expected her to crack under the immense pressure of saving her family’s legacy.

Pushing past the dull ache in her chest, she immediately scrolled through her contacts and called her real estate agent.

"I need an update on the apartment. A few of the viewers from earlier today were interested, and I need this closed fast." Valerie stated the moment the line connected, her voice devoid of emotion.

The agent rambled through a list of potential buyers, noting their financial backgrounds. Several wealthy individuals were keenly interested, but they were hesitating on the asking price.

"The price is not the priority right now. I need the buyers who can expedite the sale. I need the massive influx of cash in my account quickly." Valerie instructed firmly.

She had no intention of keeping the entire sum for herself. The luxurious apartment was titled in her name, but Dominic had paid for half. She needed to wire him his exact share and cleanly sever their ties for good. She needed to buy her freedom from his control. The agent caught her drift, promising to hustle and get the paperwork fast-tracked immediately.

Hanging up, Valerie hailed a cab and headed straight for the shared apartment. The gears of the sale were in motion. Several wealthy buyers were lining up, and there was no reason to linger in the city. She watched the towering skyscrapers blur past the taxi window, her mind focused on the next step. She needed to finalize moving her personal belongings and close this agonizing chapter of her life.

Valerie unlocked the front door and stepped into the entryway, ready to call the movers. She froze the second her shoes hit the hardwood floor.

Dominic stood right there in the center of the spacious living room.

He looked up, his expression mirroring her sudden surprise. His right hand was awkwardly clutching a small pink suitcase. Valerie recognized it instantly. It belonged to Chloe. Not even an hour had passed since she walked out of his suffocating hospital room, yet here he was, prioritizing his little darling's luggage. It proved his continued prioritization of the other woman over his own wife. He had abandoned her family's company to ruin, but made sure Chloe had her personal items.

Stepping further inside, Dominic's eyes scanned the bare walls. He noticed the stark absence of their joint photos. The large, framed picture from their anniversary dinner was gone. He looked at the empty shelves where their shared belongings used to sit. The cozy, lived-in space now looked stripped, hollowed out by her sudden departure. His expression darkened with a chilly stare.

"Why is everything cleared out like this?" Dominic demanded, his voice dropping into a harsh register.

Valerie flicked her gaze to his sour face. She did not flinch at his tone.

"They were outdated, so I tossed them." Valerie answered flatly.

Dominic ground his jaw, refusing to believe she could genuinely walk away from a marriage she had fought so hard to build. He arrogantly assumed the impending financial collapse of the Thorne Group would shatter her resolve. He knew her company was bleeding out by the minute. She had to be bluffing to teach him a lesson. She was just waiting for him to offer a way out so she could yield and beg for his mercy.

He took a deliberate step forward, his eyes narrowing as he probed her, dangling a lifeline he fully expected her to grab.

"Valerie, do you have nothing you want to say to me?" Dominic asked, his tone laced with expectation.

Valerie stared right back at him, her face a mask of unshakable emotional closure. She saw no point in hashing anything out. There were no magic words left to fix the damage he had caused.

"Nope." She replied, her tone deadpan.

Frustrated by her refusal to bite, Dominic’s face went rigid. His brow furrowed deep as his humiliated fury bubbled near the surface. He stood there, waiting for her to crack. He expected tears, accusations, or pleas for financial mercy.

Instead of leaping at the opening, Valerie offered a mocking nudge, pointing her chin toward the pink suitcase in his hand.

"Shouldn't you be heading back to the hospital to look after her? Go on. You would not want your little darling's depression flaring up again just because you went missing for an hour." Valerie stated casually, her words dripping with calm sarcasm.

Dominic’s face clouded over, irritated by the nonchalant dismissal. He hated the way she spoke about Chloe.

"I have told you already. My relationship with Chloe is strictly platonic. What is with the snarky digs?" Dominic snapped.

Valerie shrugged it off, unaffected by his defensiveness. The truth did not matter anymore. His actions spoke louder than his excuses. She brushed past him, her shoulder almost grazing his chest as she walked straight toward the main staircase. She just wanted him gone.

"Valerie." Dominic called out her name, his tone dialing back.

She halted mid-step on the first stair, looking over her shoulder.

"Look, I get that I have sidelined you over and over for Chloe. Let's carve out some time to really talk this through. I..." Dominic admitted, his voice softening into a rare attempt at reconciliation.

His phone rang, cutting him off mid-sentence. The loud, obnoxious ringtone shattered the fragile silence in the living room. Dominic did not hesitate. He fished the phone out of his pocket and answered without missing a single beat.

"Chloe, are you okay? Alright, do not worry. I am heading over right now. Just hang tight." Dominic spoke, his voice instantly dropping to a comforting velvet.

A wry, self-deprecating smile crept onto Valerie’s face. She witnessed the same tired routine play out right in front of her. Every single time Chloe cropped up, he dropped everything. He responded in a flash, instantly abandoning his half-hearted attempt to fix his marriage. It was a pattern so ingrained in his behavior that he could not even see how cruel it was.

Grown numb to the endless cycle, she averted her eyes coolly. She turned her back on him and kept climbing the stairs, her footsteps steady on the wooden treads. Her exhausted resignation finally transformed into firm, unshakable emotional closure.

Dominic ducked out of the living room, stepping toward the front hallway to keep Valerie from catching the rest of the chat. He wanted to soothe Chloe's nerves before pivoting back to pick up the conversation with his wife. He muttered soft reassurances into the receiver, making his way toward the front door. He fully intended to return and settle the argument once and for all.

After ending the call, he slid the phone back into his pocket and turned around, ready to address Valerie's stubbornness.

But the space behind him was bare. The stairs were empty. The living room was quiet. Finding no sign of her anywhere, anger flared across his features, and he huffed out of the apartment in a rage.