Nathaniel’s POV
“So it’s really done?” she asked, spinning toward me, her eyes bright. “The company is yours?”
“Ours,” I corrected, pulling her onto my lap. “The transfer was finalized this morning. The lawyers sent the confirmation an hour ago. Jones Corp now owns the controlling stake in Audrey’s family logistics empire. The merger is complete.”
Victoria squealed, wrapping her arms around my neck and peppering my face with kisses. “I knew you could do it! I knew it! Oh, Nathaniel, we’re going to be so rich!”
“We were already rich, Vicky,” I laughed, enjoying her adoration. It was a nice change from Audrey’s quiet, depressing grief.
“But now we’re powerful,” she whispered against my ear. “And she… she’s gone?”
“She’s on a plane to the Maldives as we speak,” I said, checking my watch. “Probably over the Indian Ocean by now. She thinks I’m joining her tomorrow.”
Victoria giggled. “God, she’s pathetic. She really believes you’re coming?”
“She’s desperate,” I said with a shrug. “She lost the baby, she feels guilty about the lawsuit… she just wants to be loved. It made her easy to manage.”
I set the glass down. The thrill of the acquisition was still buzzing in my veins, but beneath it, a nagging curiosity pricked at me.
The gift.
Audrey had mentioned a gift. On the bed. For our anniversary.
Usually, Audrey’s gifts were sentimental rubbish—framed photos, engraved watches, things that required me to feign emotion. But something about her voice on the phone earlier had been different. There was a finality to it. A strange calm.
“I should go,” I said, untangling myself from Victoria.
“What?” She pouted, clinging to my arm. “Why? Stay. Celebrate with me.”
“I have to pack a bag,” I lied smoothly. “If I don’t show up at the house to ‘get ready for the airport’ tomorrow, the staff will talk. And Grandfather has spies everywhere. I need to keep up appearances for a few more days until the ink is fully dry on the merger.”
“Fine,” Victoria sighed, kissing me hard. “But come back tonight. I don’t want to sleep alone.”
“I’ll try.”
I left her apartment, the cool night air hitting my face. I felt invincible. I had the girl, the money, and the company. I had won.
The drive to the estate was smooth. The house was dark when I arrived, looming against the night sky like a fortress. I parked the Aston Martin and let myself in.
Silence.
It wasn’t just quiet; it was empty. The kind of silence that felt heavy, like the air had been sucked out of the rooms.
“Audrey?” I called out of habit, tossing my keys into the bowl.
No answer. Of course not. She was on a plane.
I walked up the stairs, loosening my tie. I needed to find this gift, pack a fake bag, and get back to Victoria.
I pushed open the door to the master bedroom.
The bed was made perfectly. The sheets were crisp and unwrinkled. In the center of the duvet sat a small velvet box and a thick manila envelope. Next to them was an iPad.
I walked over, frowning.
I opened the velvet box first.
My breath hitched. It was her wedding ring. The three-carat diamond I had put on her finger five years ago. It sat there, cold and glittering, accusing me.
Why would she leave her ring?
I picked up the envelope. It was heavy. I tore the seal and slid the contents out.
Divorce papers.
My heart hammered against my ribs. I scanned the document. Irreconcilable differences. No alimony requested. No asset division requested.
She wasn’t just divorcing me. She was fleeing.
“What the hell are you playing at, Audrey?” I muttered, tossing the papers onto the bed.
I picked up the iPad. There was a sticky note attached to the screen: Play me.
I pressed the home button. A video file was queued up. I hit play.
Audrey’s face filled the screen. She was sitting in this very room, wearing a black dress I had never seen before. She wasn’t crying. She wasn’t the broken, grieving woman I had seen for the last month. Her eyes were clear. Sharp.
“Hello, Nathaniel,” she said. Her voice was calm. Terrifyingly calm.
“If you’re watching this, I’m already gone. You’re probably holding the divorce papers. Don’t worry, I made it easy for you. I don’t want your money. I don’t want your house. I don’t want anything that has your name on it.”
She leaned forward slightly, a small, cold smile playing on her lips.
“You think you won, don’t you? You have the merger. You have the logistics company. You have Victoria.”
She paused, as if savoring the moment.
“Check the transfer documents again, Nathaniel. Read the fine print. specifically, Schedule B, Section 4.”
The screen went black.
A cold knot of dread tightened in my stomach. I scrambled for my phone, dialing my lead counsel, Henderson.
“Nathaniel?” Henderson answered on the second ring, sounding breathless. “I was just about to call you. We have a problem.”
“What problem?” I snapped, putting him on speaker as I paced the room. “The transfer went through. I got the notification.”
“The transfer went through, yes,” Henderson said, his voice trembling. “But… Nathaniel, the assets aren’t there.”
I froze. “What do you mean, the assets aren’t there?”
“I’m looking at the inventory list right now. The holding company you just acquired… it’s empty. The trucks, the shipping containers, the warehouse leases, the distribution contracts… they were all moved.”
“Moved where?” I roared, gripping the phone so hard the screen creaked. “That’s impossible! I saw the papers!”
“They were moved into a separate irrevocable trust yesterday afternoon,” Henderson stammered. “The ‘David & Audrey Family Trust.’ The transfer you signed today… it was for the parent company only. You own the brand name, the office furniture, and the corporate debt. But the actual logistics network? The revenue stream? It’s gone. It’s all in the trust.”
The room spun.
“Who controls the trust?” I whispered, though I already knew the answer.
“David,” Henderson said. “And… a silent partner. We don’t know who yet.”
I ended the call. I stared at the divorce papers on the bed.
She had played me.
The grieving widow. The submissive wife. The desperate woman begging for a honeymoon. It was all a lie. She had looked me in the eye, smiled, and handed me a hollow shell while she stole the pearl.
I owned nothing. Without those trucks, Jones Corp couldn’t move its product. We would bleed millions within a week. The investors would riot. My grandfather…
My grandfather would kill me.
I grabbed the iPad and threw it against the wall. It shattered with a satisfying crunch, but it didn’t stop the panic rising in my throat like bile.
I snatched up my phone again and dialed Audrey’s number.
“The number you have dialed is no longer in service.”
I dialed David.
“The number you have dialed is no longer in service.”
I stood in the center of my empty bedroom, the silence deafening. The ring on the bed glinted under the chandelier, mocking me.
She knew. She knew about Victoria. She knew about the poison. She knew everything. And she hadn’t just left me.
She had gutted me.
My phone buzzed in my hand. A text from Victoria.
Unknown Number: Did you find the gift? Is it something sexy? ;)
I stared at the screen, my vision blurring with rage.
