Chapter 5 - The Wedding Ring on the NightstandWhile panic gripped the boardroom in Chicago, I stood by the window of a penthouse apartment overlooking the glittering skyline of Minneapolis, wrapped in a plush cashmere robe.
Adrian walked into the living room, holding a secure tablet. He looked at me with a mixture of profound respect and cautious amusement. "Your code input was flawless. The legal firewall Elias's father built to protect the subsidiary had a backdoor loophole tied to the grandfather's estate trust. You just executed a hostile takeover of his primary logistics hub in less than twenty minutes."
"Elias taught me how to read corporate filings," I said quietly, watching the snowflakes drift past the glass. "He spent three years bringing me to business dinners, making me sit silently while he negotiated multi-million-dollar deals. He thought I was just arm candy. He never realized I was taking notes on every single transaction."
"He underestimated you," Adrian said, setting the tablet down. "That’s his fatal flaw. He thinks power is something you hoard, not something you share or earn. What’s our next move? His lawyers are already filing emergency injunctions in federal court."
"Let them file," I turned around, my eyes flashing with cool determination. "Elias loves lawsuits. He loves controlling the narrative. But he’s never had to fight a custody battle for a child he didn't know existed, against a wife who legally holds equal shares in his family trust."
Suddenly, my burner phone buzzed on the coffee table.
I looked down at the screen. An unknown, restricted number was flashing.
Adrian stepped closer, his hand hovering near the phone. "Do you want me to take it?"
"No," I said, my heart hammering against my ribs, though my voice remained steady. "This is between him and me."
I pressed accept and put the phone to my ear.
May you like
For three long seconds, there was only heavy, ragged breathing on the other end. Then, Elias’s voice came through—low, fractured, and trembling with a rage so absolute it felt physical.
“Where are you, Chloe?”
