Ethan Cross had scrubbed the same plate three times when his phone lit up with the call that would end his marriage.He didn't know that yet. Right now, Marcus's voice crackled through the speaker."It's done, sir. IPO approval came through. Mrs. Cross rings the Nasdaq bell tomorrow—prime slot. Press conference is live right now."Ethan's grip tightened on the plate. Three years of pulling strings in shadows, midnight calls to senators, moving money through untraceable channels so his wife could build her empire without ever knowing he'd laid the foundation."Good work."He ended the call. Dried his hands.Downstairs, laughter bubbled up—his mother-in-law's afternoon tea. The clink of porcelain, women comparing children like poker hands.He should stay upstairs. That was the agreement. Be invisible when Diane had company.But this was different. Vivian had done it. He wanted to share the good news. Just this once."Jessica's son made partner at Goldman." Mrs. Parker's voice carried sm

Vivian's heels clicked against marble at nine a.m. She dropped her purse. Shrugged off her coat.Ethan sat on the sofa. Still in yesterday's clothes. Eyes fixed on nothing."You look terrible." She kicked off her shoes. "My shoulders are killing me. Come here."He didn't move.Typical. Ryan would've already offered. Ryan noticed things—her tension, her needs, the details that made a woman feel valued. Ryan didn't have to be asked."Ethan. I said my shoulders—""Where were you last night?"His voice was flat. Empty.Something twisted in her chest. Guilt, maybe. Or just irritation that he'd make this difficult."The celebration banquet. Obviously." She moved to the mirror, checking her reflection. "My phone died. It happens.""Four calls, Vivian. You didn't answer four calls.""I was busy." She spun to face him. "What is this, an interrogation? Do I need to report my schedule now? File paperwork every time I attend a work event?"He has no right. Not after everything I've accomplished.

Dr. Hayes arrived in fourteen minutes.Ethan had already laid the woman on the bed, checked her vitals twice, and sterilized the acupuncture needles he kept in his emergency kit—a habit from a life he'd tried to forget."How bad?" Dr. Hayes asked, snapping on gloves."Aphrodisiac compound. High concentration. Maybe six hours in her system already." Ethan rolled up her sleeve, exposing pale skin already showing faint purple discoloration. "We're running out of time."Dr. Hayes's expression darkened. "You know what you're doing?""I served two tours as a combat medic before I built my first company." Ethan positioned the first needle against her inner forearm. "I know what I'm doing."The needle slid in. A bead of dark blood welled up.Then another needle. Another point. Ancient medicine meeting modern crisis.The woman's breathing gradually steadied. The flush faded from her cheeks. Her pulse, when Ethan checked it, had dropped from dangerous to merely elevated.Dr. Hayes monitored, ma

The hotel rose forty-three stories above the city, glass and steel catching morning light like a blade.Yesterday, Vivian Cross's celebration banquet. Today, Lily Morgan's new beginning.Neither woman knew they were about to collide.Lily stood at the entrance, staring up. Places like this used to be normal for her—back when she had a company, a title, a future. Now they just reminded her of everything she'd lost."Are you having second thoughts?" Ethan's voice was quiet beside her."No." She forced her feet to move. "Just some... memories. Bad memories."He didn't ask. That's what she appreciated about him—he didn't pry. Didn't demand explanations for the shadows that crossed her face when she saw expensive things, heard champagne corks, felt silk under her fingers.The lobby swallowed them whole. Marble. Chandeliers. Women in designer heels clicking past, men in thousand-dollar suits checking phones worth more than her last three months of rent combined.Lily's borrowed clothes felt

The elevator doors closed, and Diane turned to her friends with victory shining in her eyes like sunlight off broken glass. "Well. That was entertaining."Mrs. Parker's expression was uncertain. "Diane, maybe you were a bit harsh—""Harsh?" Diane laughed and waved her hand dismissively. "That parasite needed to hear the truth, and that girl—whoever she is—needed to know what kind of man she's dealing with.""Still." Mrs. Bennett glanced at the closed elevator doors. "You did threaten to tear his skin off.""Figure of speech." Diane started walking toward the penthouse door with renewed purpose. "Come on. Let's not waste time on trash. We came here to see the apartment."Mrs. Sullivan nodded slowly. "The one Ryan bought?""The penthouse." Diane pulled the key card from her purse and held it up so light caught the gold embossing. "Forty-three floors of luxury. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Marble everything. The kind of home my daughter actually deserves."Her friends followed, hesitant but