At 5 AM, Alex stood in front of his bathroom mirror in the modest apartment. He'd laid out two sets of clothes on his bed, his usual cheap jeans and t-shirt, and a tailored suit that Vincent had delivered an hour ago.The suit was custom-made, midnight blue with subtle pinstripes. It had been hanging in his private office at Apex Global for three years, waiting for the day he'd need it again.Alex stared at both outfits, feeling the weight of the choice.The cheap clothes represented safety, the anonymity he'd worn like armor. As long as he was Alex the poor husband, he could remain invisible, untouchable.The suit represented war, stepping back into the spotlight, reclaiming his power, and accepting all the consequences that came with it.His phone buzzed. A text from Nora: "Can't sleep. Keep thinking about what you said. What am I going to learn about you tomorrow? You're making me nervous."Alex typed back: "Turn on Channel 7 at six AM. Watch the whole thing. Then call me.""That's

Alex spent the night in his car outside Nora's hotel, hoping to catch her in the morning. At 6 AM, Vincent called."Sir, I found something. Isabella Cortez's lawyer? He worked for Marcus Sterling three years ago."Alex sat up straight. "What?""Isabella's lawyer, Howard Chen, was on Sterling International's legal team until last year. He handled their acquisitions." Vincent's voice was grim. "This isn't a coincidence. Sterling is behind this.""How did he even know about Isabella?""That's what I'm trying to figure out. But sir, there's more. The annulment papers were filed correctly six years ago. Someone deliberately removed them from the court records two weeks ago.""Two weeks? Right before the Davis family situation escalated?""Exactly. Sterling must have dug into your past when he realized you were interfering with his merger. He found Isabella, paid her to claim the marriage was never annulled, and had his lawyers destroy the evidence that it was."Alex's hands tightened on th

Alex returned to Apex Global headquarters in a daze. Vincent met him at the elevator with a tablet full of urgent messages."Sir, the board wants an emergency meeting. The Isabella situation has shareholders panicking.""Handle it.""Sir, I can't handle it. They want to hear from you directly." Vincent studied him. "What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost.""Nora's pregnant."Vincent's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh my God. Sir, that's... how do you feel about that?""Terrified. Thrilled. Devastated that she might not let me be there for it." Alex rubbed his face. "Schedule the board meeting for tomorrow. I can't deal with this today.""There's something else. Marcus Sterling made bail an hour ago. His first call was to his lawyers, he's filing a massive lawsuit against you for defamation and corporate espionage.""Let him sue. He's going to prison.""Maybe, maybe not. His lawyers are very good. They're already claiming the evidence against him was illegally obtained." Vincent's expre

Thomas Davis stared at Alex across the mahogany desk in his study, his face carved from stone. Catherine had fled to her bedroom after Nora's departure, leaving the two men alone."Do I want your help?" Thomas repeated Alex's question. "What choice do I have? You've systematically destroyed every other option.""Marcus Sterling destroyed your options. I'm offering you a way out.""A way out that puts you in control of my family's company. A company my grandfather built from nothing." Thomas poured himself a scotch with shaking hands. "Tell me, Alexander, is this revenge? For how we treated you?""If I wanted revenge, I'd let Sterling's merger go through. You'd lose the company anyway, and Nora would have been married off to James." Alex leaned forward. "I'm offering you a fair deal. Your family retains forty percent ownership. You stay on as chairman. Your employees keep their jobs.""And you control everything.""Someone has to. Your decisions put the company in this position."Thoma

Catherine Davis sat in her bedroom, still awake despite the late hour. When Thomas, Derek, and Alex entered, she looked up with red-rimmed eyes."Have you come to blame me for Nora leaving too? There's plenty of blame to go around.""Catherine," Thomas said gently, sitting beside her, "we need to ask you about your mother's trust fund."Her expression shifted from grief to confusion. "Mother's trust? Why? That money's been managed by the same firm for twenty-five years. I barely think about it.""Who manages it?" Alex asked."Whitmore and Associates. They're a wealth management firm Mother used. When she died, the trust was set up to provide me with quarterly distributions. The rest stays invested until..." Catherine stopped. "Until I die, and then it goes to my children.""How much is in the trust?""I don't know exactly. Maybe fifty million? Mother was very wealthy, and the investments have grown over the years.""Try five hundred million," Alex said, showing her his laptop.Catheri