I Left My Blind-Box Obsessed Ex with Nothing

Everyone said the heir of the Sterling family had found himself a massive headache of an influencer girlfriend who was obsessed with blind box gimmicks.

When it came to distributing performance bonuses to the staff, she insisted on making it a blind box draw.

I turned everyones bonuses into blind boxes! You draw your luck, and whatever amount you get is what you take home. Isn't that so much more thrilling?

An assistant who had loyally worked under her for three years ended up drawing a measly fifteen dollars. He couldn't pay his rent and was kicked out by his landlord the very next week.

During a major corporate bidding war, she gave Julian Sterling a "brilliant" strategy: blind box bidding.

"Let the bidding companies draw blind boxes to decide who wins the contract. Its all about the thrill!"

As a result, a shell company that had been registered for exactly three days, lacking even the basic operational licenses, walked away with the groups largest annual contract.

And on the eve of Sterling Groups massive offshore acquisition negotiations, she did it again.

"Ive randomized all our minimum walk-away prices into blind boxes! Let's make this negotiation exciting!"

In my past life, as Julians wife and business partner, I had called out this utter madness. I fought tooth and nail to correct the proposal.

I even personally flew to London, working seventy-two hours straight with no sleep, to secure exclusive authorization from the seller's core executives. That was the only reason the Sterling Group didn't go bankrupt right then and there.

But instead of being grateful, she threw a massive tantrum, claiming I had humiliated her. She ran away in a fit of rage and got caught in a crossfire street shooting during her chaotic flight.

Once the dust settled, Julian grabbed my wrist so hard it bruised and slammed a divorce agreement in my face.

"Sienna was just trying to have some fun! If you hadn't constantly opposed her and made her feel worthless, she would have never run out and faced that horror! Sign it and leave with nothing!"

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the exact moment she was tampering with our walk-away prices.

Looking at the real pricing sheet that I had already memorized by heart, I chose to remain completely silent. I turned on my heel and walked back to my office.

I wish you two a very happy, uninterrupted ride straight to hell.

"Chloe Vance, have you lost your mind?"

"Sienna was just trying to lighten the mood. What's with that cold, miserable face of yours?"

Julian kicked my office door open, his voice roaring with impatience.

I stared at the computer screen showing the randomized negotiation prices, a cold smirk playing on my lips.

"I just don't like spending my time around suicidal idiots."

"Who are you calling suicidal?!"

Julians voice pitched higher, his face turning an angry shade of red.

"Sienna set up this blind box negotiation because she felt bad that everyone has been working late. She wanted to bring some fun and energy to the team!"

"But look at you. You didn't say a word, just walked back to your office and slammed the door. Who are you trying to intimidate?"

Julians tone was dripping with annoyance.

"The entire project team is praising her for being creative. You're the only wet blanket here."

"Get back out there right now and apologize to Sienna."

The memory of the words "leaving with absolutely nothing" on that divorce papers from my past life flashed through my mind. My voice turned ice-cold.

"Julian, tampering with the walk-away price of an international acquisition is corporate suicide."

"If you two are tired of living, go jump off a cliff yourself."

"Leave me out of it."

Julian let out a harsh sneer.

"Stop trying to scare me with your dramatic corporate speeches!"

"Sienna already told me that her backera legendary hedge fund manager from Silicon Valleyis pulling the strings for her behind the scenes."

"Before the negotiation officially starts, he will send the real, optimized numbers directly to the heads of each department via email."

"It's called psychological warfare. Do you even understand high-level strategy?"

Psychological warfare?

Using the entire groups offshore expansion as a poker chip for some imaginary influencer game?

It was beyond pathetic.

"Then enjoy your game. Just don't drag me down with you."

I pushed him out of my office and shut the door.

Before Julians footsteps could even fade down the hallway, the assistant of the Sterling family matriarch rushed in.

"Ms. Vance, Victoria Sterling has arrived!"

Sienna was Victorias distant niece. I didn't even need to guessshe had gone crying to the old lady the second I walked away.

"Chloe Vance, Sienna said everything is under control!"

"As Julian's wife, not only do you fail to appreciate Sienna's hard work, but you're also actively rebelling against management and ruining team morale!"

I cut off Victoria's screeching voice without an ounce of respect.

"There are less than twelve hours left before the negotiation begins."

"If we don't recover the real pricing sheet right now, the moment the sellers realize our numbers are a chaotic mess, they will short our stock. Do you have any idea what will happen to the Sterling Group then?"

"When the company goes under, is Sienna going to take the fall? Or are you?"

"Insolent!"

Victoria slammed her cane on the floor.

"Don't think just because your family empire, the Vance Group, holds a major stake in this merger, you can talk down to me!"

"Sienna was so stressed by your toxic attitude that she just fainted in the lounge!"

"I'm glad you remember the power of the Vance Group."

"I've been executing cross-border acquisitions with my father since I was eighteen. Do you honestly believe a TikTok influencer understands international trade better than I do?"

"Harvey, escort Mrs. Sterling out!"

"You!"

Seeing that she couldn't bully me, Victoria stormed out, her face twisted in rage.

I reached into my drawer, took out my family's corporate digital authorization token, and called my core team.

A message popped up on my phone. It was a private Slack message from Wyatt, the VP of Strategic Investment.

The company-wide WhatsApp group was flooded with brainless praise for Sienna.

"Sienna has a literal Silicon Valley god backing her! This blind box pricing is going to be a genius move!"

"I just checked! Our team's bid was set to the rock-bottom minimum! This is so exciting!"

Wyatts message followed immediately after:

"Chloe, these lunatics are actually going to submit those randomized numbers. Are we really just going to stand by and watch?"

I typed out five words and hit send:

"Let them burn. Save yourselves."

There were only ten hours left.

In my past life, I flew across the Atlantic overnight, faced a hostile board of foreign regulators alone, and worked until my eyes literally bled.

And my reward was being thrown out of my own home with nothing but a divorce suit.

This time, I was going to grab some popcorn.

Without me acting as the shield and the brains, I wanted to see how long these clowns could keep up their little circus.

Just then, Julian burst back into my office.

"Chloe! Sienna is in tears and hyperventilating!"

"You are going to her right now, and you are getting down on your knees to apologize!"

I looked into his raging eyes and calmly replied,

"If she's hyperventilating, call an ambulance."

"What do you need me for? Am I an oxygen tank?"

"Chloe Vance, are you really going to be this stubborn?"

Julian took a violent step forward, slamming his hand down and scattering the files on my desk.

"Sienna is just a young girl. What harm could she possibly mean?"

"She put so much effort into this blind box pricing just to bring some fun to the boring prep work."

"And honestly, she did it to help you! You're a miserable workaholic who does nothing but stare at spreadsheets. She wanted to make you less boring!"

I looked at the documents scattered across the carpet and let out a soft laugh.

"Risking a multi-billion dollar merger just to make me 'less boring'? How incredibly charitable of her."

"Cut the sarcasm!"

Julian pointed a finger right at my face, shouting,

"Sienna said her backer is a retired Silicon Valley legend who can predict market trends perfectly! He already knows the seller's absolute limit!"

"The moment we submit our bid, it will be the most brilliant ambush in the history of the Sterling Group!"

"We will swallow their market whole, and it will all be thanks to Sienna's genius out-of-the-box thinking!"

I honestly couldn't believe what I was hearing.

An ambush based on randomized, unchecked numbers?

What kind of fairy-tale business textbook did he read that from?

"Julian, do you have a single brain cell working?"

"Those are minimum walk-away prices. One wrong digit means a loss of hundreds of millions. You are literally throwing this company into a volcano."

"Losses? If there are losses, it's because the team your dad sent from Vance Group is incompetent!"

Julian spat, glaring at me with pure disgust.

"You're just jealous of Sienna's talent. You're jealous that she has connections with elite players while you're just a dry corporate suit."

"Let me tell you something, Chloe. If you don't apologize to Sienna today,"

"You can kiss your status as my wife goodbye, and we will terminate the strategic partnership between Vance Group and Sterling Group immediately!"

I let out a low laugh, slowly pushing the remaining acquisition binders off my desk, letting them crash to the floor.

"Julian, who was the one who practically knelt at my father's feet, begging for Vance Group's backing and a marriage alliance?"

"If my father hadn't respected your grandfather's legacy, do you honestly think I would have agreed to marry a useless, incompetent boy like you to secure your CEO seat?"

"Let me tell you this: this pathetic marriage? Anyone can have it. I've been sick of playing your savior anyway."

Julian clearly didn't expect me to be so ruthless. He froze, his face turning pale as he stood there, completely speechless.

"Chloe Vance... stop trying to play hard to get!"

"Do you think anyone else in high society would ever tolerate a cold, heartless bitch like you?"

He slammed my office door so hard the glass partition rattled, and stormed off.

The cold air conditioning hummed in the empty room, making me feel utterly detached.

Julian and I grew up together, but there was never any love between us.

My father raised me as his sole successor. To protect our family assets and help Julian stabilize his grandfather's company, I agreed to the marriage.

Now, at the most critical juncture of the offshore acquisition, I was representing Vance Group in this joint venture, only to watch it turn into a complete joke.

Siennas "blind box" show had already spread throughout the entire department.

A few project managers were gathered in the breakroom, talking excitedly.

"Hey, did you hear?"

"Sienna randomized all the bidding brackets. We literally draw numbers out of a hat to fill in the final bid!"

"That's so fresh! I was so tired of doing the same old financial modeling. This actually makes work exciting!"

"Exactly! Sienna's Silicon Valley backer is a genius. Whatever number we pull is meant to be!"

"Director Leo from finance tried to ask for the real spreadsheet earlier, and Julian literally kicked him out of the project. Said he was sabotaging Siennas strategy!"

I watched these brainless sheep walk happily toward the slaughterhouse.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Wyatt, the VP of Strategic Investment.

I answered. His voice was frantic and trembling with fear.

"Chloe!"

Yes, although Julian was nominally leading the team, everyone in the industry knew I was the actual brain of this acquisition.

"I can't do this anymore! This blind box pricing is driving us straight off a cliff!"

"I want to pull my entire team out of the project tonight. Please, give me the green light!"

I remained silent for a moment, then calmly said,

"Hold your ground. Do nothing."

In my past life, Wyatt was the one who stood up and demanded the real pricing sheet. Julian publicly fired him on the spot and blacklisted him from the industry.

This time, I wasn't going to let him make himself a target.

Right after I hung up, Harvey pushed my office door open.

"Chloe, we have a massive crisis!"

Harvey's face was pale, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"The teams just drew their numbers. The finance team pulled a bid that is ridiculously below our actual cost!"

"It doesn't even cover manufacturing. The moment we submit that, the seller's legal team can sue us for predatory pricing and anti-competitive practices!"

"The head of finance begged Sienna to let them redraw, but Sienna just said 'it's a trade secret' and had security drag him out of the building!"

I scrolled through the emails on my phone, my expression entirely blank.

"So, why are you telling me?"

"Chloe, you're the actual director of this merger! Just say the word, and we will bypass Julian to upload the real pricing data!"

Harvey slammed his hand on my desk in frustration.

"Upload the real data?"

I let out a cold laugh.

"Julian made it very clear: anyone who touches Siennas pricing sheet will be treated as an insider threat and fired."

Harveys eyes were bloodshot.

"So we just sit here and watch?"

"The negotiation is tomorrow! If we submit these numbers, we won't even get to see their board. We'll be laughed out of Wall Street, and our stock price will tank before lunch!"

I looked up at him, my voice dangerously calm.

"Harvey, listen to me carefully."

"From this moment on, lock down Vance Group's core proprietary data. Make sure our teams independent legal channels are secure. No one is to touch our original models."

"As for the rest of them? Their survival has nothing to do with us."

Harvey opened his mouth to argue, but the sheer coldness in my eyes shut him up.

He grit his teeth, turned around, and walked out.

Outside the window, night had fallen. There were less than ten hours left.

Over a hundred employees, running on the whims of an influencer's blind box. What a beautiful disaster.

In my past life, I bled for these ungrateful bastards, only to be thrown out like trash.

This time, I was going to enjoy the show.

Suddenly, a barrage of celebratory emojis and notifications popped up in the company Slack.

I walked to the glass window and looked down at the open office floor.

Sienna, dressed in a head-to-toe designer outfit, was standing on a desk in the middle of the room.

She held a gold envelope high in the air, laughing hysterically.

"Attention everyone! My Silicon Valley mentor has given the final green light! The blind box bids are officially locked!"

"We are submitting our destiny-approved bids directly to the offshore board!"

Hundreds of employees cheered, throwing paper into the air like they were at a college frat party.

Julian stood right beside her, looking at her with eyes full of adoration.

The first round of bidding emails was officially sent out.

Ten minutes later, the Director of Offshore Operations came sprinting down the hall, slamming Julians office door open.

"The sellers just rejected our first round of bids! They said our numbers are completely incoherent and insulting! They're accusing us of wasting their time!"

"Worse, two of our pricing brackets are so low that their legal counsel just sent a formal warning. They are preparing to sue us for commercial fraud!"

It was the exact chain-reaction collapse I had predicted.

Julian stood up, the smile fading from his face, but he immediately turned his fury onto the Director.

"Incompetent! This must be because your operations team failed to execute Siennas strategy correctly!"

He turned to Sienna, his voice carrying a hint of desperation.

"Sienna, didn't your mentor say this was a guaranteed win? Why are they threatening to sue us?"

Siennas face turned slightly pale, but she quickly covered it up, twisting her fingers and looking incredibly victimized.

"Julian, you have to trust the process. My mentor said we must break things down to rebuild them! This is a classic Silicon Valley tactic."

"Their aggressive response is just a test. If we stand our ground, they will back down!"

"This is just a minor bump in the road. Once we push through, we win!"

I almost burst out laughing at her absurd logic.

Using a multi-billion dollar lawsuit as a "test of faith"?

And Julian, the brilliant CEO, actually nodded. He waved his hand and roared,

"Order the legal department to fight back! Crush their attitude!"

"Anyone else who dares to question Sienna's strategy is fired immediately!"

I gripped my phone tight. The memory of the freezing cold divorce papers made my fingers tremble.

In my past life, this stunt wiped out half of Sterling Group's market cap overnight.

I took a deep breath, pushing down the anger, and walked back to my desk.

Harvey rushed in, his voice shaking.

"Chloe! Finance is in complete chaos!"

"Leo, the finance director, realized how bad the numbers were and tried to recall the emails."

"But Julian had IT lock him out of the server, claiming he was committing corporate sabotage! He was escorted out by security and fired on the spot!"

I slammed my fist on the desk.

Firing the only people telling the truth?

Julian had lost his mind.

"Chloe, the entire finance department is being forced to execute the blind box contracts!"

Harveys eyes were red.

"Those numbers are a death sentence. The breach of contract fees alone will bankrupt us!"

"Please, do something! Let's release our Vance Group independent valuation sheet to the press!"

I closed my eyes, my voice like iron.

"Release it? With what authority?"

"Julian has locked down all server permissions. If we upload anything now, we'll be flagged for unauthorized data breaches."

"So we just watch the ship sink?" Harvey shouted, his voice cracking.

"Vance Group will not be collateral damage."

I opened my eyes, cold and focused.

"Harvey, protect our team. Lock our legal firewalls."

"If anyone from Julians side tries to touch our assets, sue them immediately."

Before Harvey could reply, loud arguing erupted outside.

Wyatt, the VP of Strategic Investment, was practically thrown into my office.

His suit was stained with spilled coffee, his tie torn, and a scratch ran down his cheek.

"Chloe, please save us!"

Wyatt gasped, gripping the edge of my desk.

"Julian called me a traitor. He's removing me from the board!"

"I don't care about my job, but there are dozens of people in operations who worked day and night on this! Now they're all going to be ruined!"

I stood up and handed him a bottle of water.

Wyatt was a good, honest man. In my past life, he stayed up three nights straight helping me clean up Julian's mess without a single complaint.

And now, he was reduced to this.

"Wyatt, listen to me," I whispered.

"If I step in now, even my corporate token can't save anyone. Julian has bypassed the board."

"Vance Group is our final stronghold. Stay quiet, and I will protect you and your core team."

Wyatt stared at me, his lips trembling, before he finally let out a long, defeated sigh and bowed his head.

"Harvey, take him out through the back elevator. Don't let anyone see him."

In the hallway, the loud voice of Julians executive assistant echoed:

"By order of the CEO, we are conducting an internal audit for corporate spies! All departments must comply!"

I adjusted my blazer and stepped out of my office, coming face-to-face with the arrogant assistant.

"Ms. Vance, have you seen Wyatt?"

I stared at him with absolute disdain.

"Do you think you have the security clearance to search my office?"

The assistant hesitated, intimidated by my tone.

"Mr. Sterlings orders. Anyone harboring a traitor will be treated as an accomplice."

"If you are protecting Wyatt, you are defying the executive board!"

I took a step forward, my presence forcing him to take a step back.

"Go tell Julian that Vance Group only answers to our partnership agreement, not his childish tantrums."

"If you take one more step into my wing, my lawyers will have a harassment lawsuit on your desk before you can walk back to the elevator."

The assistant swallowed hard and scurried away.

Julian was burning his own house down, and no one could stop him.

Just as I sat back down, Harvey's phone rang.

He picked it up, and within seconds, all the color drained from his face.

"Chloe... it's over."

"The offshore regulators just stepped in. They are launching an international fraud investigation against Julian!"

"Julian has just been detained for questioning!"