Todos los capítulos de He married me to ruin my husband : Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 20

Ivy went to the settlement conference after all. Denise insisted, and Xavier didn't argue against it either, telling her flatly that letting Adrian control the room alone was worse than sitting through whatever he had planned.They met at Adrian's lawyer's office downtown, a conference room with too much glass and not enough air. Adrian was already seated when Ivy walked in with her father and Denise, sliding a document across the table before anyone had even settled into their chairs."Your father's original land deal with Robert Cross," Adrian said, watching her read it. "There's a clause tying certain family assets to a debt neither family ever formally closed out. Including, as it turns out, the shares now sitting with Xavier."Ivy's stomach dropped. Beside her, her father went very still.Denise leaned forward, scanning the page. "We'll need the original documentation before we treat any of this as valid.""Take your time, ma'am." Adrian sat back, entirely too pleased with himsel

Adrian watched the clip for the fourth time, phone gripped tight enough that his knuckles had gone pale.‘Leave her out of it.’Xavier's voice, calm and merciless, looping over and over on every business channel by midafternoon, the ‘potentially serious financial implications’ line repeated in every single cut. He'd wanted the story to be about Ivy. Instead his own name sat under headlines he hadn't authorized and couldn't control.‘Vance Faces Scrutiny Over Undisclosed Accounts, Rival Says…’‘Cross Holdings CEO Hints at Financial Misconduct in Public Statement…’His phone rang before he could set it down. It was Halloran."Tell me you didn't know this was coming," Halloran said, without a “good day.”"I didn't authorize anything about offshore accounts. That's fabricated, and you know it.”"It doesn't matter if it's fabricated, Adrian. It's out there now, sitting next to your name, and I've already had two board members call me this morning asking if they should be worried." Halloran

An emergency hearing was scheduled for nine the next morning, in a small courtroom with everything already in place.Ivy sat beside Xavier, Denise on her other side, Adrian and his lawyer directly across the aisle. There wasn't a trace of embarrassment on his face, despite the headlines still carrying his name."Your Honor," Adrian's lawyer began, "the share transfer executed by Mrs. Vance to Mr. Cross occurred during active divorce proceedings, without notarized third-party consent as required under the original Sinclair-Vance marriage settlement. We're asking the court to freeze the transfer pending further review. “There's no dispute they signed a marriage certificate, Your Honor," the lawyer continued, "but the circumstances raise questions about whether this is a legitimate union or a transactional arrangement designed to circumvent the settlement's consent requirements."Denise stood. "Timing alone isn't evidence of anything, Your Honor, except that Mrs. Vance moved quickly to

“Well…. ‘Mr and Mrs Cross’, Adrian said with plain sarcasm. "I've obtained a court order authorizing a search of these premises."Xavier took the document without stepping aside. "On what grounds, young man?""To determine whether this marriage exists in fact or only on paper." Adrian nodded toward the officers. "If you'll excuse us."He moved forward. Xavier didn't budge."You really think you're going to find something?" he asked.Adrian met his eyes. "I didn't come here to think. I came to verify.The officer nearest the door cleared his throat."Sir, we're authorised to execute the order."Xavier glanced at the warrant one last time, then stepped aside. The officers entered the apartment.Adrian's "investigation" lasted all of ten minutes. Two officers he'd apparently convinced to accompany him on some flimsy pretext walked through the penthouse's guest wing, noted the single occupied bedroom with Ivy's belongings clearly settled into it, and left looking faintly embarrassed to ha

Lauren arrived at Xavier's office the next afternoon looking like she hadn't slept. Charlie had gone home with her sister again. The coffee Theo had handed her sat untouched on the table beside her, cooling by the minute."Thank you for coming," Xavier said, gesturing to the chair across from his desk. "I know this isn't a comfortable position to be in.""None of the last few years have been comfortable for me." Lauren sat, glancing between him and Ivy. "I'm not here to negotiate my way out of what I told Adrian. I meant it. One week.""We're not asking you to back down," Ivy said. "We want to help you do this in a way that actually protects Charlie, instead of leaving you exposed to whatever Adrian tries once he's cornered."Lauren's shoulders dropped slightly, some of her defensiveness easing. "What did you have in mind?"Xavier leaned forward. "Right now, if you go to a reporter directly, you control almost none of it once it leaves your hands. They'll frame the story however sell