Chapter 3

A sharp pain tore through my lower abdomen.

I bit down hard on my lip, forcing myself not to cry out.

Chloe let out a theatrical gasp. "Oh no, Audrey's sweating. Are you feeling all right? Derek, maybe we should take her to the hospital."

"Hospital for what? She's putting on a show." Derek cast me a cold, indifferent glance.

He pulled another document from his briefcase and dropped it on the floor in front of me.

"Since you're not dying, sign this."

My hands shaking, I picked up the pages.

Every word on that crisp white paper was a knife to the heart.

"Domestic Harmony Agreement."

Clause One: Audrey voluntarily adopts Brandon as her legal child, to be raised as her own, with full inheritance rights.

Clause Two: Chloe Pemberton shall reside in the Ashford household in the capacity of Derek's personal assistant. Audrey shall not obstruct, harass, or attempt to remove her under any circumstances.

Clause Three: All remaining savings, investment accounts, and real estate under Audrey's name shall be placed under Derek's full management authority.

I trembled with fury, jabbing my finger at Derek's face.

"Have you completely lost your mind, Derek?"

"You want me to raise your mistress's kid and hand over everything I own? Keep dreaming!"

Derek dropped onto the sofa, unbothered. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag.

"Audrey, it's called looking at the big picture."

"You care about appearances, don't you? Sign this, and you'll still be the glamorous Mrs. Ashford."

"Brandon becomes your legitimate son, on paper and in the eyes of the law."

"As for Chloe—she doesn't want a title. All she asks is to be near me."

"I've already bent over backwards here. Don't be ungrateful."

I nearly laughed at the sheer brazenness of it.

"Bent over backwards? You've dressed up highway robbery in a pretty bow!"

I grabbed the edge of the coffee table, hauled myself upright, tore the agreement to shreds, and flung the pieces in his face.

"Let me make this perfectly clear—I am getting this divorce."

"Everything that's mine stays mine. I won't leave a single cent to you and your little homewrecker."

"First thing tomorrow, I'm having my lawyer file charges against you for embezzlement and illegal transfer of marital assets. I will make you pay back every last penny with interest."

The smile faded from Derek's face. His eyes turned cold and predatory.

"The hard way, then."

He pulled out his phone and dialed a number right in front of me.

"Yeah, it's me. Cancel all the supplementary credit cards under Audrey's name. Every single one. Effective immediately."

"And notify building security—starting tomorrow, Audrey is not to set foot in the office without my personal authorization."

He hung up and looked at me with a smirk.

"Go ahead and sue. You can't even scrape together enough for a lawyer. What are you going to fight me with?"

My heart dropped like a stone.

For six years, I'd poured my blood, sweat, and tears into that company. Nearly all my liquid assets had gone straight back into operations.

My personal bank account held maybe a hundred and fifty thousand in emergency funds—and every card was an authorized user card tied to Derek's primary account.

He was cutting off my lifeline entirely.

Chloe stood to the side, barely concealing her glee behind her hand.

"Really, Audrey, why make this so hard on yourself?"

"You're a woman. What's wrong with backing down a little? Derek's the CEO of a publicly traded company now. Even if you walked out that door, who do you think would hire you?"

I fixed her with an icy stare.

"You think that company is all I have?"

"Don't forget, Derek—my family is in the construction materials business."

"Even if I leave this marriage with nothing, my parents aren't going to sit by and watch you walk all over me."

Harrington Construction Materials wasn't some corporate giant, but it had solid footing in Westfield. It was my last card to play.

When Derek heard that, far from looking worried, he threw his head back and laughed.

"Oh, Audrey. You're really pinning your hopes on your family's little operation?"

He rose and walked toward me.

"You think all I've been doing these six years is playing dumb?"

"That clueless father of yours signed a major supply contract six months ago. The supplier? I set it up."

"Now take a guess—if that batch of materials turns out to have serious quality defects, serious enough to cause a structural collapse, how much do you think your daddy would owe?"

Ice flooded my veins. Every drop of blood in my body ran cold.

"You... you set my father up?"

"Set him up? That's a harsh way to put it. It's just business." Derek flicked his cigarette ash with a satisfied smile.

"Those materials have already been used in the Southside development project. One phone call from me, and the Building Inspection Authority will be there within the hour."

"When that happens, Harrington Construction Materials won't just go bankrupt—your old man with the bad heart might be looking at a few years of hard time."

He seized my chin, gripping so hard it felt like he'd crush bone.

"You're a smart woman, Audrey."

"So what's it going to be? Sign the agreement, play the dutiful Mrs. Ashford—or watch your entire family go down in flames?"

He slapped a freshly printed copy of the agreement against my chest.

"Refuse to sign, and I'll make sure your family's name is destroyed in this city."