FAZER LOGINDaniel's Pov
She showed me the text without saying a word.
I read it, looked at the photo, recognized the charity event it had been taken at four years ago, understood immediately exactly what Robbie had intended.
"It's from four years ago," I said.
"I know when it's from." Rosa set her phone face-down on the kitchen counter, her voice controlled in the particular way that meant she
Daniel's PovI found her sitting on the guest room bed when I got home, a folder open beside her, her face pale in a way that stopped me in the doorway."Rosa.""I know about Robbie." Her voice came out flat, exhausted. "The photos. The money Johansson paid her. All of it.""I suspected as much when the tabloids started.""You suspected." She looked up at me. "You suspected my own stepsister was selling information about me and you didn't tell me.""I didn't have proof until the security firm confirmed it." I crossed the room, sat carefully on the edge of the bed. "I was building the case before I brought it to you.""That's what you always do. Build the case privately before deciding what I'm allowed to know."I didn't argue that point, because after tonight's fight, I understood exactly h
Rosa's PovThe first page was a summary, dated three weeks earlier, prepared by a private security firm whose letterhead I didn't recognize.Subject: Robbie Madison. Financial and communication analysis per client request.I kept reading.Financial records showed Robbie deeply in debt, credit cards maxed across four different accounts, a car repossessed two months ago that she'd apparently kept hidden from everyone in the family. Beneath the financial summary sat a series of timestamped communications, phone records showing calls between Robbie's number and a number the report identified as belonging to Johansson Theron.The calls started the week after my wedding to Marcus collapsed.My hands started shaking as I turned the pages.Text message transcripts followed, subpoenaed or hacked or however this firm had
Rosa's PovI watched him fire her through the glass conference room wall.No raised voice. No visible anger. Just a flat tone that carried more menace than shouting ever could, his words clipped and precise while Patricia sat across from him, her hands shaking in her lap."Security will escort you to collect personal items," he said. "Your access has already been revoked. HR will process final compensation according to standard severance, though given the nature of your breach, legal counsel may pursue additional action.""Mr Gosling, please.""That's all, Patricia."I stood at the glass a moment longer after she left, shattered, escorted out by security like she'd never spent five years bringing him coffee and organizing his entire professional life.This was the version of him Johansson had described. T
Daniel's PovI woke to find Rosa already at the desk in the corner of my bedroom, documents spread out, her focus absolute despite the early hour."You're up early," I said, sitting up."Couldn't sleep." She didn't look up from the page. "Figured I'd get ahead on the Tanaka counterproposal."Something about her tone felt slightly off, a careful flatness I hadn't heard from her since our fight on the couch."Rosa.""Hmm.""Everything okay?""Fine." She reached for her phone on the desk, and I caught the motion, quick and deliberate, sliding it face-down before I could see the screen.I noticed. I chose not to press, though something about the gesture sat uncomfortably in my chest for the rest of the morning."What time did you start?" I asked.
Rosa's PovWe sat across from each other at his desk the next morning, an actual contract between us instead of vague promises."Consultant fee," Daniel said, sliding the paper toward me. "Market rate for someone with your credentials. Which, based on Tanaka's reaction alone, is considerably higher than what I initially offered.""I don't want charity terms.""This isn't charity. This is what any outside consultant with your background would command." He tapped the number at the bottom. "James pulled comparable rates from three similar negotiations. This is the actual market value of your work."I looked at the number. It was significant. Independent. Mine, earned through actual skill instead of anything resembling obligation."Fine." I picked up the pen. "But I want it in writing that I can walk away from this specific project at any poin
Daniel's PovChapter 44: The Consultant (Daniel's POV)I sat with the corrected pages spread across my desk that evening, reading through her work line by line, my fury building with every clause she'd caught that our legal team had missed for years.This wasn't casual talent. This was genius, systematically hidden away because a man too small to handle it had made her feel like something needing hiding.James found me still at it past nine. "You look like you're about to put your fist through something," he said."I might.""What happened?"I turned the laptop toward him, pulled up her corrected translations alongside the original documents."Rosa did this. In her spare time. Correcting errors our legal team has apparently been living with for years." My jaw tightened. "She was certified for UN Security Council interpretation, James. The youngest person ever given that certification. She consulted on international trade negotiations at a level most professionals spend their entire c







