The Senator's Daughter

The silence that followed Nathaniel's threat was broken only by the tap of rain against the high windows overlooking the city skyline.

Ivy took a slow step backward, her mind spinning as she tried to process the sheer horror of the moment.

"Nathaniel please listen to me, I beg you," Ivy said, her voice dropping to a trembling whisper. "I spent two years surviving on four hours of sleep a night, caring for our babies and building your empire against every wolf in the market."

She walked over to the dark wood side table near the fireplace and picked up a silver picture frame. She brought it over and held it out directly in front of Nathaniel's face.

"Look at this," she commanded, her fingers tightening on the metal frame. "This is us in Italy. You took this photo on our honeymoon. You told me that night that you would love me until the day your heart stopped beating."

Nathaniel glanced at the photograph. The image showed him smiling broadly, holding a radiant Ivy in his arms on the deck of a yacht. For a brief second, a violent, blinding pain shot behind his eyes. He winced slightly, his brow furrowing as a dull ache throbbed in his temples. He forced his face back into a mask of stone and pushed the frame away.

"Photos can be forged," Nathaniel said smoothly, though his voice lacked a fraction of its former confidence. "My mother informed me that you had full access to my digital records while I was receiving medical care abroad. It takes very little effort for a skilled designer to create convincing images."

"That's not true…" Ivy let out a bitter, disbelieving laugh. "You think I forged our life? What about our marriage license? What about the public registry?"

Eleanor stepped forward, her heels clicking loudly against the stone floor. "The registry has been corrected, Ivy. Any claim you think you have to the Ross family name is completely invalid. You were a temporary employee whom Nathaniel hired before his trip. You used his absence to fabricate a lifestyle you could never afford on your own."

"You are lying, Mother!" Ivy yelled, turning her gaze onto Eleanor. "You hated me from the minute Nathaniel introduced us because I did not come from an old-money family! You offered me money to leave him when I got pregnant, and when I threw your check back in your face, you waited until he was helpless to erase me from his head!"

"Mind your tongue," Nathaniel interdicted, stepping between Ivy and his mother. "You will not speak to my mother with disrespect in my presence. I do not care what delusions you have convinced yourself to believe. The reality is that I am back, the company is under my direct authority, and your presence here is finished."

The elevator doors opened once again. A young woman in a pink designer dress stepped into the foyer. Her blonde hair fell in soft curls over her shoulders, and a brilliant smile lit up her face as she walked straight toward Nathaniel.

"Nathaniel, sweetheart, the driver is waiting downstairs," Celeste Ashford said in a sweet, polished voice. She slid her arm through Nathaniel's, resting her hand on his sleeve with casual intimacy. "Your mother said we should celebrate your return with my father at the country club tonight."

Ivy felt as if someone had plunged a dagger into her chest and turned it slowly. She knew Celeste Ashford. Celeste was the daughter of Senator Ashford, the woman Eleanor had tried to force onto Nathaniel for years before he chose to marry Ivy in secret.

"Celeste," Ivy said, her breath raspy. "What is the meaning of this nonsense? What have you people done to my husband?"

Celeste looked at Ivy with a look of insincere pity. "I am sorry, Ivy. I know it must be difficult for someone from your background to let go of a life above your status. But Nathaniel and I have been close for a very long time. His mother and mine are already planning our formal engagement party for next month."

"Nathaniel?" Ivy whispered, her eyes turning back to Nathaniel. "Are you engaged to her?"

"My personal life does not concern you," Nathaniel replied, checking his platinum wristwatch with absolute indifference. "You have three hours until morning. Take your clothes and leave. If you are still here when the sun comes up, I will have my legal team file trespassing charges against you, and I will have social services look into the environment you are providing for those children."

After he was finished speaking, Ivy looked at Nathaniel, searching his handsome face for even a single trace of the gentle, devoted man who used to hold her through the night and whisper promises into her hair. There was nothing left. The man in front of her was a stranger surrounded by snakes.

"How dare you bring my children into this," Ivy breathed, her voice cracking under the unbearable weight of his betrayal. "They are your children, Nathaniel! You held them in the delivery room! You wept when they were born!"

"Enough of your pathetic performance," Eleanor snapped.

Before Ivy could even react, Eleanor closed the distance between them and slapped Ivy across the cheek.

The force of the strike was so sudden and violent that Ivy lost her balance, her head snapping to the side as a burst of pain bloomed across her face.

"You insolent, ambitious little gold-digger," Eleanor hissed, stepping closer as Ivy stumbled back against the side table. "You will not raise your voice in this house again, nor will you drag my son's name into your dirt."

"Mother, please stop—" Ivy gasped, clutching her burning cheek, but Celeste stepped in before she could recover.

With a spiteful smile, Celeste lunged forward and delivered another slap straight across Ivy's face. The diamond ring on Celeste's finger caught the skin near Ivy's lip, splitting it open instantly.

Ivy let out a muffled cry of shock and pain, her knees buckling beneath her.

"Learn your place, bitch," Celeste whispered venomously, shoving Ivy hard in the shoulder.

Ivy fell onto the cold stone floor of the foyer, the silver picture frame slipping from her fingers and shattering against the floor. Shards of glass scattered around her as she lay on her side, trembling.

Nathaniel just stood there. He didn't lift a finger. His dark eyes remained fixed on her with detachment, as if she were nothing more than an unpleasant stain on his rug.

Satisfied with the humiliation, Celeste smoothed down her pink designer dress and turned back to Nathaniel. She leaned up on her tiptoes, reaching out to cup his jaw gently, and pressed a soft kiss directly to his lips right in front of Ivy.

"Come on, sweetheart," Celeste purred softly, trailing her fingers down the lapel of his jacket. "Let's go upstairs and get you ready for the party. My father is so eager to meet you tonight, and we shouldn't keep your mother waiting."

"Yes, honey," Nathaniel said smoothly. "I will have the staff sweep up this garbage in the morning."

Celeste tucked her arm tightly into Nathaniel's, leading him toward the private elevator.

They turned and walked into the elevator together, leaving Ivy sobbing hysterically on the floor. They thought she was helpless, forgetting that she spent two years controlling every asset, trade, and secret foundation of the Ross Empire.

Sitting on the floor, Ivy made her final decision: she was leaving for good, but she would completely destroy the empire she built before stepping an inch.