"Do not leave a single necklace behind, Victoria!" Julian shouted from the study. "If I find out you stole any of the diamonds I bought you, I will have you arrested!"
The hollow clatter of the gold pen hitting the metal trash can still rang in my ears. I did not turn around.
"Keep them," I called back. "They are too cheap for my taste anyway."
"You ungrateful wretch," Julian snapped.
I pushed open the heavy oak front doors.
"Mrs. Thorne?"
I stopped on the top step. Bauer, the head of security, stood by the stone pillar. He held a two-way radio, his expression caught between pity and strict professionalism.
"It is Ms. Sterling now, Bauer," I corrected him.
"Mr. Thorne ordered me to check your bags," Bauer said, keeping his eyes firmly on the ground. "To ensure no company property leaves the premises."
I held out my bare arms. My neck was empty. I left the sapphire pendant on the vanity. I left the diamond tennis bracelet in the safe. I carried only a slim leather purse.
"Check it," I offered, holding the bag forward.
Bauer shifted his weight, refusing to take the purse. "That will not be necessary, ma'am. Have a safe evening."
"Thank you, Bauer. You should start looking for a new job. This house will not be standing much longer."
I walked down the driveway, my flats making no sound against the pavement. I stepped out into the cool evening air, leaving the gates of the estate behind me.
A matte-black Maybach idled at the corner of the street, its tinted windows reflecting the pale glow of the streetlights. As I approached, the rear door swung open smoothly.
I slid into the backseat. The heavy door pulled shut with a soft click, sealing away the noise of the upscale neighborhood.
"You took exactly three minutes longer than we estimated," a deep, smooth voice noted from the seat beside me.
I turned to Alexander Pierce. He wore a crisp navy suit, his posture rigid against the leather upholstery. A sleek silver briefcase rested across his knees.
"Julian wanted to gloat," I said, leaning my head against the headrest. "He insisted on parading his new fiancée."
"Did he sign the transfer?" Alexander asked, his dark eyes locking onto mine.
I unzipped my purse, pulled out the folded divorce decree, and handed it over. "Every page. Apex Industries is officially mine."
Alexander took the papers. His thumb brushed the edge of the crisp white sheets. He scanned the messy signatures on the bottom lines.
A sharp, unexpected laugh escaped my throat. I should be crying over the end of my marriage, but all I felt was a strange, buzzing energy.
"You find this amusing?" Alexander raised an eyebrow, not looking up from the contract.
"He thinks he handed me a death sentence," I replied, tracing the stitching on my purse. "He thinks Apex is a bankrupt shell company. He told me I would be begging him for ten thousand dollars by next month."
"He is a fool," Alexander stated flatly. He snapped his briefcase open. "He never bothered to look past the surface debt. If he had, he would have realized Thorne Enterprises does not actually own the underlying architecture of its own network."
Alexander pulled out a thick, manila envelope. He untied the string closure and extracted a single, yellowed document. He held it out to me.
"What is this?" I asked, taking the heavy parchment.
"The original equity subscription agreement," Alexander said. "Dated three years ago. The week before you married Julian."
I stared at the text. The legal jargon blurred for a second before the key figures jumped out at me.
Eighty percent absolute controlling stake.
Registered to Victoria Sterling.
My lungs locked. I stopped inhaling entirely, a sudden pressure building in my chest. The air in the car felt thick, charged with the weight of the paper in my hands.
"Eighty percent," I whispered, running my index finger over the faded ink of my own signature.
"You secured the majority shares right after you founded the subsidiary," Alexander explained, his tone strictly business. "Julian assumed Apex was just a tax write-off he controlled through the holding company. He never audited the founding charter."
"Because he trusted his lawyers," I murmured, the reality settling over me.
