All Chapters of Ex-husband, Step Aside: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

POV: Sloane The week begins with tension in the air. Reports pile on my desk, but something doesn’t add up. Numbers look off, figures that once matched no longer align. I stare at the files, tracing lines with my finger, knowing someone has been inside what belongs to me.I call my team together for an early meeting. Everyone looks tired but alert. I tell them we might have a leak, and the silence that follows feels sharp. No one speaks for a long moment. I watch their faces, my mind running through names, trying to find the weak point.Ethan sits near the edge of the room, eyes low. He joined recently, eager and polite. Evelyn had recommended him, saying he reminded her of me when I first started. I believed her then. I’m not so sure now.I dismiss the team after setting new security steps. When the room empties, I sit alone, fingers drumming against the table. I replay every strange moment in the past month. The late reports. The missing emails. The new silence in certain meetings.

POV: Sloane Victor called in the morning. His voice was smooth. “Sloane, I want to invite you to dinner tonight. Private, exclusive, just business.”I hesitated. “Business or strategy?”He laughed softly. “A bit of both. You’ll thank me later.”I said, “I’ll come, but if this is another pitch about power, I’m leaving.”He replied, “You’ll want to stay when you hear what I have to say.”I told Gabriel about the dinner. He frowned through the call. “He’s after control, not partnership.”“I know what he’s like,” I said.He asked, “Then why go?”“Because I need to see what his next move is,” I said. “I won’t be caught off guard.”He exhaled. “I’ll stay close. If anything feels off, leave.”“I can handle him,” I said. “He’s not the first man to think I’m an easy target.”At the restaurant, Victor rose when I arrived. “Sloane, always sharp,” he said.I sat. “I came for the business offer. Let’s skip the flattery.”He smiled slightly. “Straight to the point. I like that.”“Good,” I said. “T

Pov: GabrielThe heavy door swung shut, leaving Adrian’s foul energy contained outside the ballroom. I released my grip from his elbow, feeling the physical residue of his loathing fade into the night air. That was handled cleanly, which is the only way to deal with trash like him, I thought, letting out a slow, controlled breath. My eyes tracked back to the spot where Sloane stood, illuminated by the last remaining emergency lights.Even standing in that dim light, talking to her daughter, Sloane radiated a remarkable power. The way she had faced Adrian, calm and armed with lethal information, spoke volumes about her strength. She is exactly what I thought she was—smart, dangerous, and completely captivating, I acknowledged, a knot tightening in my chest. She was a fortress built on ambition and necessity, and I understood that completely.The darkness was now absolute, an immediate and total void that swallowed the room whole. I could hear the immediate shift in sound, the high-p

Pov: Sloane The family courtroom felt cold and formal, a stark contrast to the luxurious warmth of my office. I sat at the table, my hands clasped tightly in my lap, trying to project a calmness I did not feel. This is not about law or truth; this is just Adrian trying to hurt me, I thought, watching his smug face across the room.Adrian’s lawyer began speaking, his voice smooth and full of calculated dishonesty. He painted a picture of me as an absent mother, obsessed with work and neglecting my child for my career. Every fabricated detail and twisted truth landed like a sharp stone in my heart. How dare he sit there and lie about my life, about Daisy, with such easy cruelty? I asked myself, gripping the edge of the polished table.He brought up the false fraud accusations from the gala night, using them as "evidence" of my morally questionable character. I felt a wave of icy fury, struggling to keep my face impassive under the weight of his blatant lies. I knew I had to remain qu

POV: Sloane HarperI was sitting on the edge of the couch when Daisy walked in. She looked at me with that curious face she always had when she wanted to know something. I already knew what she was going to ask, but I waited anyway.“So,” Daisy said, crossing her arms. “What’s going on with Gabriel?”I froze for a second before answering. “What do you mean?”She smiled a little. “You know what I mean. You’ve been acting weird every time he’s around. Do you like him?”My stomach turned at the question. I didn’t want to admit it, but lying to her felt worse. “Maybe,” I said quietly. “I think I do.”Daisy gasped. “I knew it! You like him!”I shook my head quickly. “Keep your voice down. It’s not a big deal.”“It is a big deal,” she said. “You never like anyone. What changed?”I looked down at my hands. “I don’t know. He’s different. He listens to me.”Her expression softened. “He makes you smile.”“He does,” I admitted. “But it doesn’t matter. It’s complicated.”Daisy frowned. “Why is it