Nora Kidd POV:
Amira’s war cry from the cafe still echoed in my ears as the heavy, soundproof doors of the midtown mediation room swung open. She always treated walking into a room like stepping into a boxing ring.
Colton was already seated on the left side of the massive, frosted-glass conference table. The fluorescent lights overhead caught the deep, bruised bags under his eyes. The whites of his eyes were webbing with red blood vessels.
Sitting next to him was Gerald, his senior legal counsel. Gerald was leaning back in his ergonomic chair, slowly rotating a solid gold fountain pen between his thick fingers.
I wore a cheap, off-the-rack black blazer. Amira gripped my elbow, supporting my lower back as I carefully lowered my heavy body into the chair opposite Colton.
I felt Colton’s gaze hit me like a physical weight. He was staring at my face, his eyes frantically searching for any sign of grief, any crack of hesitation.
I kept my eyes locked straight ahead, focusing on the blank whiteboard behind him. He was air.
Gerald cleared his throat, a wet, condescending sound. He slid a sleek black binder across the glass.
"Let’s save everyone some billable hours," Gerald said, his tone dripping with arrogance. "According to our financial assessment, Mrs. Farmer’s monetary contribution to the marital estate during the last three years is exactly zero."
He flipped a page. "My client is willing to raise the severance payout to five million dollars. However, this is contingent upon Mrs. Farmer signing a full waiver of parental rights and custody."
Colton’s head snapped toward Gerald so fast I heard his neck crack. "What the fuck are you doing?" Colton hissed. "I never authorized a custody claim."
The moment the word 'custody' hit my ears, the temperature in my veins dropped to absolute zero. My child was the one line no one was allowed to cross. If they reached for my baby, I would break their arms.
I leaned forward, my eyes turning into Siberian ice as I locked onto Gerald.
Amira let out a sharp, barking laugh. She put a hand on my shoulder, physically holding me back.
She reached into her leather briefcase and pulled out a heavy, military-grade black hard drive. She slammed it onto the glass table.
She grabbed the HDMI cable from the center console and jammed it into her laptop. The massive projector screen behind Colton flared to life, bathing the room in a harsh blue glow.
The screen displayed a massive spreadsheet. It was the core transaction logs of Farmer Capital for the past three years.
Gerald smirked, waving his gold pen. "Publicly filed trading data? Please. That proves absolutely nothing regarding financial contribution."
Amira didn't speak. She just hit the enter key.
Forty-seven separate files cascaded across the screen. Every single one was a highly classified SEC correction log. At the bottom of each document was a verified, cryptographic digital signature: *Nora Kidd.*
Next to each file, a column highlighted in bright red showed the exact financial penalty and compliance crisis amount that had been legally averted by the amendment.
The bottom line auto-summed. The final number flashed on the screen in massive font.
Total capital saved: $3,000,000,000.
*Clack.*
Gerald’s solid gold pen slipped from his fingers and hit the glass table.
All the color drained from Gerald’s face, leaving him looking like a corpse. As a Wall Street lawyer, he knew exactly what he was looking at.
If those un-amended logs ever saw the light of day, the SEC would freeze Farmer Capital’s assets by noon and launch a full-scale criminal fraud investigation.
Colton stared at the screen. He looked at my digital signature over and over. His chest stopped moving. He looked as if an invisible hand had reached into his ribcage and squeezed his heart until it burst.
Amira placed both hands flat on the table and leaned over, casting a shadow over the sweating lawyer.
"My client is not asking for alimony, Gerald," Amira said, her voice lethal. "We are initiating a corporate partner equity liquidation."
I looked directly at Colton. "I want thirty percent of Farmer Capital’s non-voting dividend shares."
Gerald pulled a silk handkerchief from his pocket and frantically dabbed his forehead. "This... this is extortion! You are holding the firm hostage!"
I pointed a finger at the massive red number on the screen. "Extortion is a crime, Gerald. This is a legally binding claim for unpaid professional consulting services that saved your client from federal prison. I suggest you learn the difference."
Colton stared at me. He was looking at a woman he had slept next to for three years, and he was realizing he had never known me at all. Deep, primal fear radiated from his eyes.
Gerald suddenly pushed his chair back so hard it crashed into the wall. He scrambled to gather his papers, his hands shaking violently.
"We need to recess immediately."
