Aiden's wife

Damien's POV

There was something interesting about power that people failed to understand. 

They believed that power comes from money, but they were damned wrong!  Power comes from information, it comes from knowing what others try to hide, understanding what they fear, and acting before they expect you to.

That was how I always stayed ahead of my competitors and that was why I knew about Aiden Cross’s divorce before half his own board did.

I was in my office that morning, reviewing the Q3 projections for Cross Industries when my legal advisor, Marcus, knocked once and let himself in.

“You’re going to want to see this,” he said, sliding a manila envelope across my desk.

I raised a brow. “If it’s another acquisition rumor…”

“Not a rumor,” he said quickly. “A petition.” Then he paused, “A divorce petition.”

That caught my attention because what the hell is my business with a divorce?

I opened the file and scanned the details quickly, my brows furrowed in concentration.

Sophia Hale Cross.

Something about the name stood out to me. 

“Why is this on my desk?” I asked.

Marcus cleared his throat. “Because of this.”

He pulled out another sheet, a photo clipped to a hospital invoice.

It was a woman that looked familiar, as though I had seen her before, but I couldn’t remember where. She was in a waiting room, her eyes swollen, her clothes rumpled. She was holding the hand of a young girl. 

“This is Aiden’s wife?”

“Was,” Marcus Replied. “She paid an $8,000 emergency bill out of her pocket,” Marcus explained. “And her financials indicated that  she emptied her entire account to do it.”

A muscle in my jaw tightened.

“Where is she living?” I asked, dropping the file on the table.

“She’s been staying in a room above the charity office she runs.” Marcus hesitated. “It isn’t much more than a glorified storage space. No kitchen, water issues and according to what I gathered, she barely eats.”

I stared at the photo again. She was smiling at a child despite the exhaustion in her eyes.

“And Aiden?” I asked.

“He’s been attending investor meetings,” Marcus continued. “He looks… well, with another woman. His secretary from what I gather.”

Of course he did.

“Public opinion still favors him,” Marcus added carefully. “His PR team has been… efficient.”

“Has he offered her anything?” I asked.

“No. She didn’t request alimony. She waived her rights.”

That surprised me more than the divorce itself.

“Why?” I murmured, more to myself.

Marcus shook his head. “We don’t know. But she walked away with nothing.”

I leaned back in my seat. From what I hear, she had been the one to nurse him back to life.

For years, Cross Industries had been a thorn in my side, a company that acted bigger than it was because its CEO relied on good PR. Aiden was ambitious, arrogant, and dangerously incompetent. And if there was one thing I enjoyed more than outperforming him in boardrooms, it was exposing weaknesses he tried to mask.

My chest tightened and I sighed deeply. I didn’t like this feeling. This felt like sympathy and for a woman I hadn’t met!

“So,” Marcus ventured cautiously, “what do you want to do with this?”

I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I stared at the window overlooking the city. 

This situation presented an opportunity that was both practical and personal.

“Draft a donation offer,” I said at last. “Substantial. Enough to rebuild her charity entirely.”

Marcus blinked rapidly. “From the company?”

“No,” I said. “From me, privately. Make it anonymous.”

Marcus hesitated. “Forgive me, sir, but… what exactly do you hope to gain?”

I turned to face him.  “Everything.”

I glanced at her picture again and let out a deep sigh, remembering why I thought she looked familiar.

I had seen her at a charity gala, standing slightly behind Aiden, she hadn’t spoken to me, but it was difficult not to notice a woman like her in a room. She was like a diamond, sparkling in the midst of other ordinary stones.

Marcus spoke, snapping me out of my reverie. “I’ll handle the donation paperwork.”

“Good.”

When he left, I rested my fingers against the edge of Sophia’s petition.

People like Aiden never understood the consequences of their actions.

But I did.

Sophia Cross may have thought that she walked away from her marriage with nothing, but she had something far more valuable now.

She had my attention.

I remembered the way she looked that night at the charity gala, standing alone at the edge of the ballroom, her hands clasped behind her back. I could see the loneliness in her eyes.

If helping her meant watching Aiden fall apart faster, I was going  to help him open that door myself.

“Let’s see what she does,” I said quietly. “And how far she can rise once someone finally stops standing in her way.”

I picked up the folder labeled THOMPSON PROJECTS from the table and  flipped it open.

Aiden’s company had beaten me twice in the last fiscal year. I couldn’t forget how he had cheated his way to it.

Now, with this recent development, he was vulnerable and vulnerable men made mistakes.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Marcus’ number and he picked after the first ring.

“Can you find out where she is right now?”

“I’ll be on it right now,” he replied and I ended the call.

It wasn’t up to five minutes when Marcus called me back.

“She’s in the hospital now, sir. And I just got a mail from her personal assistant. She has rejected the donation. She refuses to take money from someone who wouldn’t reveal themselves.”

I let out a deep sigh. “Alright then. I think it’s time I pay Sophia Hale a visit.”

I ended the call and glanced at my wristwatch. It was just a few minutes past 3pm and I had a few meetings scheduled for the rest of the day.

I walked to my personal assistant’s desk. “Cancel all my appointments for today.”

She looked taken aback. “But sir, you’re supposed to meet Cara from the hero team.”

I groaned. I had totally forgotten about that. “Cancel it,” I said, adjusting my suit and walking off.

_________

It took me a while before I located the hospital. It was a small hospital downtown and I furrowed my brows, wondering what she was doing in such a place.

“I’m here to see Sophia Hale. She’s a patient here,” I said to the mean faced receptionist.

“There’s nobody like that here,” she said without looking at me, in a dismissive tone.

“Are you sure? I was told….” I was talking when I noticed a woman at the other side of the room. She looked worried as she spoke to who I assumed to be the cashier.

Sophia.

I walked towards her.

“…..that was all my money. Please I need a few more days and I promise, I’ll come up with the rest.”

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, we can’t do that. You have to pay the rest of the…”

“I’ll pay,” I interrupted, stretching out my card to the cashier whose eyes were wide upon seeing my black card.

“Uhhh,” Sophie glanced at me. “Excuse me? Who are you? Why would you..”

“Take it,” I urged the cashier who didn’t waste a single time as she collected it immediately.

Sophia scoffed and grabbed the card from the cashier before turning to look at me. “Who are you?”

Feisty. I almost laughed. She clearly needed the money, yet, here she was, acting so proud.

“I’m Damien Salvatore, the CEO of Salvatore inc. and Ms. Hale, I think we have some things to discuss,” I glanced at the receptionist and handed her another card, a platinum one this time. “In the meantime, let’s get this issue resolved.”

“I know who you are, Mr. Aiden. But the question is, what do you want?”

“To help you, Ms. Hale. I don’t believe that a lovely woman like you should suffer.”

“You’re the anonymous donor,” it was more like a statement than a question, but I nodded nonetheless. “Why?”

“Aiden,” I replied simply. “An enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

I stretched out my arm. “Do we have a deal, Ms Hale.”

She seemed to hesitate for a while. It was as though she was weighing her options and then after a while, she took my head. “Deal.”