I buzzed them up. Why wouldn't I? The more, the merrier.
The elevator doors opened, and in walked Evelyn, Chloe’s mother. She was a woman who lived for status—the kind of person who’d judge your wine by the label and your soul by your zip code. Beside her was a tall man in a tailored charcoal suit. He looked like he’d just stepped out of a boardroom on Wall Street.
"Liam, what on earth is going on?" Evelyn demanded, stepping into the room and immediately stopping. She saw the folders. She saw Julian staring at the floor. She saw Mark looking like he’d been hit by a spiritual bus.
"Evelyn, perfect timing," I said, my voice as smooth as glass. "We were just having a deep-dive session into 'Radical Accountability'."
Chloe was trembling now. The silk gown that had looked so elegant minutes ago now seemed like a shroud. "Mom, please... Liam has lost his mind. He’s... he’s having a breakdown. He’s attacking everyone."
The man in the suit stepped forward. He ignored me and looked straight at Chloe. "Chloe, I’ve been calling you for three hours. You said you were at a 'Silent Retreat' this weekend. You said you needed $5,000 for the 'final payment' on your coaching studio. Why did my assistant find out that the address you gave me is a vacant lot?"
The room collectively gasped. Even Julian looked up from his folder.
I leaned against the kitchen island, crossing my arms. "Ah, and who might you be?" I asked the man.
"I’m Richard," he said, turning to me. His eyes were hard. "I’m Chloe’s 'Primary Investor'. Or at least, that’s what she told me when we started dating six months ago."
"Dating?" Evelyn shrieked. "Richard is her fiancé! They’re supposed to be looking at houses in the Hamptons!"
I actually had to stifle a laugh. The layers were incredible. It was like a nesting doll of infidelity. I was the "Toxic Roommate" who paid the bills. Julian was the "Fire." Mark was the "Shamanic Tool." And Richard... Richard was the "Exit Strategy."
"Well, Richard," I said, handing him the very last black folder I had prepared. "I’m Liam. I’m the 'Toxic Roommate'—otherwise known as the guy who actually owns this apartment and has been paying for Chloe’s life for two years. Welcome to the party. You’re just in time for the 'Honesty' portion of the evening."
Richard took the folder. He didn't even sit down. He started flipping through it. His face didn't turn red like Julian’s; it turned a stony, terrifying grey.
Chloe finally broke. The "high-vibe" goddess disappeared, replaced by a desperate, cornered animal. She didn't go to me. She didn't go to Richard. She turned on her mother.
"You told me to find someone stable, Mom! You told me Liam wasn't 'enough'! I was just trying to build something! I was trying to manifest a future!"
"By sleeping with half of New York?" Evelyn spat back. She looked at the room—the "wellness" crowd she clearly despised—and then at me. "Liam, I am so sorry. I had no idea she was... this."
"I think you did, Evelyn," I said quietly. "You just didn't care as long as someone else was footing the bill for her 'lifestyle'."
Chloe turned on the room then. She looked at Julian, at Mark, at the other friends who were now whispering and showing each other the screenshots.
"You’re all hypocrites!" she screamed. "Julian, you told me your wife didn't understand you! Mark, you’ve been charging me for 'energy work' that was just you trying to get me into bed! None of you are 'pure'! I was just playing the game you all created!"
It was a classic move: The Victim Mentality. When caught, blame the world. Blame the system. Blame the "vibrations."
Julian stood up. He looked at me, then at Richard. "I’m out. This is insane." He didn't even look at Chloe as he walked past her.
"Wait, Julian!" Chloe reached for him, but he brushed her off like she was a beggar on the street.
One by one, the "community" she had built began to dissolve. Mark left next, mumbling something about "toxic entanglements." The other friends followed, clutching their folders like they were evidence in a crime scene—which, in a way, they were.
In less than ten minutes, the room was empty of guests. Only Richard, Evelyn, Chloe, and I remained.
Richard closed the folder and handed it back to me. "Thank you, Liam. You’ve saved me a very expensive mistake." He looked at Chloe. "My lawyer will be in touch about the 'investment' money I transferred to you. I believe the term is 'fraud'."
He walked out without a second glance.
Evelyn looked at her daughter with pure disgust. "Don't come home, Chloe. Your father and I are done with your 'phases'. You’re thirty years old. Figure it out."
She followed Richard out.
The silence that followed was deafening. The candles were still flickering. The organic vegan appetizers were still sitting on the table, cold and untouched.
Chloe stood in the center of the room, her silk dress stained with a spilled drink. She looked at me. The tears started then. Not real tears of regret—I knew her well enough now to know the difference. These were tears of "How do I fix this so I don't lose the apartment?"
"Liam," she sobbed, taking a step toward me. "I’m so lost. I’ve been so confused. My ego took over. I was just... I was so scared of losing you that I tried to find myself in other people. Please. You know who I really am. You know my heart."
I reached into my briefcase, which was sitting on the counter. I pulled out the legal document my lawyer had drafted.
"I do know who you are, Chloe," I said, handing her the paper. "You’re a person who has exactly twenty-four hours to remove her 'vibrations' from my sanctuary. This is a formal notice to quit. I’ve already contacted the building’s security. Your key fob will be deactivated at 8:00 PM tomorrow."
She looked at the paper, her eyes widening. "You... you can't do this. I have nowhere to go! You’re being financially abusive! You’re' controlling me!"
"No," I said, walking to the door and opening it wide. "I’m just finally setting a boundary. A real one. Not the fake ones you use to manipulate people. A boundary that says: 'I respect myself too much to let a parasite sleep in my bed'."
She looked at me, and for a second, the mask was gone entirely. No "Zen," no "healing," no "tears." Just pure, unadulterated venom.
"You think you’ve won?" she hissed. "You’re just a boring, lonely engineer. You’ll be alone forever with your blueprints and your empty apartment. No one will ever love you like I did."
"If your version of love is what I just saw in those folders," I said calmly, "then I’d much rather be alone."
She grabbed her designer purse and stormed out, her heels clicking angrily on the hardwood.
I closed the door and locked it. I leaned my back against the wood and took a deep breath. For the first time in two years, the air in the apartment felt clean.
But as I started to clean up the mess, my phone buzzed. It was a message from an unknown number.
“Liam? This is Simone. I was at the party. I didn’t leave with the others. I’m downstairs. There’s something else you need to know about what Chloe was planning for Monday. It’s not just about the cheating. You need to check your bank accounts. Now.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. I thought it was over. But the "spiritual" goddess had one more trick up her sleeve, and it was the most dangerous one yet.