Chapter 3

The Vale family began treating me very differently once I got pregnant.

Margaret replaced my security team and arranged for New York's most sought-after obstetrician to oversee my care.

She even had the family lawyers review every insurance and trust document in my name more than once.

"Nothing can happen to you now."

That was what she said most often.

Adrian was barely around.

After her Lincoln Center debut, Sienna was supposed to leave for Chicago with the company right away.

She canceled at the last minute.

I soon heard why.

Her contract was the problem.

She had only just gotten her big break, and her former management company still had the right to represent her commercially for the next three years.

Adrian personally put together a new legal team for her. It took him two weeks.

In the end, he paid an absurdly high termination fee to free her from the contract.

Then he took her to Monaco.

No assistant, no PR team. He even postponed the quarterly meeting.

Just like an ordinary couple in love.

My investigator asked if he should keep following them.

"No need."

I put the phone away without letting any emotion show.

The most Adrian had ever given any of the women before her was jewelry, a car, or an apartment.

He had never put his life or work on hold for any of them.

Sienna really was good at this.

In a way, I had her to thank.

The deeper he sank, the easier my work got.

He missed more and more project meetings.

At first, everyone waited for him.

When he didn't show, they went to his father.

But I was already in charge of risk management for the group.

For years, most of the PR crises and last-minute messes Adrian left behind had landed on my desk.

Eventually, people realized it was faster to come to me than to wait for him.

Before long, they came straight to me.

That month, a guest revealed a serious privacy breach at one of the Vale hotels in Miami.

The video had been on social media for less than six hours when two brands announced they were suspending their partnerships.

Adrian was in Monaco with his phone off.

The emergency board meeting ran until dawn.

I took charge of the crisis under enormous pressure.

Forty-eight hours later, we found the source.

I personally fired the contractor, published a compensation plan, and brought both brands back to the table.

When it was over, Adrian's father asked me to stay behind in the conference room for the first time. Something like admiration showed in his eyes.

"Elena, would you be interested in sitting in on the operations meetings from now on?"

My eyes widened.

"Absolutely!"

When I got home, Margaret was waiting in the living room.

She looked at the clock.

"It's one in the morning. The doctor said you need to rest."

I slipped off my heels.

"I know."

"Then go on maternity leave."

She pushed a folder across to me.

Inside was the deed to a townhouse on the Upper East Side, less than ten minutes from my clinic.

"Move in there and stop working for now.

"The family office will take care of everything for you."

I looked at the deed and didn't move.

"Margaret, I want to keep working."

She looked at me and frowned.

"Why?"

I took a moment.

"Because the moment I stop, I'll find myself waiting for Adrian to come home.

"And you know he isn't going to."

Something shifted in her expression.

A few seconds later, she took the folder back.

"All right. We'll do it your way."

That night, a transfer came in from Margaret. A hundred million dollars.

I didn't hesitate. I had my lawyer arrange to donate all of it.

Meanwhile, I continued expanding my role in the company.

The next day, I received a new meeting invitation.

The Vale Hospitality quarterly operations meeting.

For five years, Adrian had sat in the front row.

This time, a note appeared after his name.

[Remote attendance pending]

I rested a hand on my stomach, though my pregnancy still wasn't showing.

Adrian was busy teaching Sienna how to get free of the life she'd come from.

And he hadn't noticed that, piece by piece, I was freeing myself from him.