I pushed through the heavy glass doors of the hotel lounge.
A man sat at the corner booth, spinning a whiskey glass. He looked up, the dim lighting catching the sharp angles of his jaw.
Ethan.
"You're the unknown number," I said, sliding into the leather seat opposite him.
"Five years, two months," he said, sliding a fresh martini across the table. "You look exactly the same, Iris. Just a little more dangerous."
"You saw what happened upstairs."
"I heard enough," he replied, his voice a steady hum over the jazz music. "A loud hallway. A dropped velvet box. Mia practically gloating by the elevators."
I stared at the olive in my glass. "Why text me?"
"I came back to the States to expand my firm," Ethan explained, leaning forward. "But seeing you up there, realizing what Kane has been doing... my priorities shifted."
"I don't need a savior, Ethan."
"I know," he said, a sharp smile cutting across his face. "You need a weapon. I'm offering to be yours."
I studied his face. The soft, gentle boy I grew up with was gone. The man sitting across from me radiated quiet authority.
"Kane won't let you walk away with your shares of the company," Ethan continued, tapping the rim of his glass. "He'll fight dirty. You need a ghost. Someone he doesn't see coming."
"And you want to be my ghost?"
"I want to watch him burn," Ethan said simply. "Go home. Play the devoted partner. Gather everything. I'll be right here when you're ready to strike."
I left the drink untouched and walked out into the night.
Midnight struck as I unlocked the door to our shared apartment.
The front door clicked open ten minutes later.
Kane stepped inside, loosening his tie. He let out a long, theatrical sigh, his posture slumping.
"Iris?" he called out, his tone laced with manufactured exhaustion.
I sat on the velvet sofa, forcing my muscles to relax. "I'm here."
He crossed the living room and dropped onto the cushions beside me. He reached out, wrapping his arms around my waist, burying his face in my neck.
I didn't pull away. I rested my chin on his shoulder. An unexpected laugh bubbled in my throat.
"Are you laughing?" Kane asked, pulling back to search my face.
"Just exhausted," I lied, tracing the line of his lapel. "Today was a lot."
"I know," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "I'm so sorry about the hotel. Mia threw herself at me. I was just trying to let her down easy."
"Let her down easy," I repeated, keeping my voice entirely flat.
"She's young. Stupid. I didn't want to ruin her career," he said, rubbing his eyes. "I love you, Iris. Only you. I've been working twenty-hour days for our future. Cut me some slack?"
He showed absolutely zero remorse. His pulse remained steady against my wrist.
"Iris, look at me," he commanded softly, tilting my chin up. "That girl means absolutely nothing. She's a distraction. A mistake."
"A mistake," I echoed.
"I've been under so much pressure," he pressed, his thumb stroking my cheek. "The new merger. The board breathing down my neck. I just... slipped."
He really thought I was that naive.
"You slipped," I said, forcing a soft, understanding smile.
"It will never happen again," Kane promised, kissing my temple. "We built this empire together. I'm not throwing it away for a kid. Forgive me?"
I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into a brief hug. "Go take a shower, Kane. You smell like the hotel."
"You're an angel," he said, kissing my cheek before heading down the hall.
The bathroom door clicked shut. The shower turned on, the water drumming against the tiles.
His phone sat on the glass coffee table.
I snatched it up. The passcode was still my birthday. He was too arrogant to change it, too confident in my blind loyalty.
I opened his messages. Scrolled directly to Mia's name.
*Mia: You left your tie at my place last night.* (Sent yesterday)
*Kane: Keep it. I'll take it off you later.*
My thumb swiped up. The screen blurred with text bubbles.
*Mia: Paris was amazing. Thank you for the necklace.* (Sent six months ago).
*Kane: Anything for my girl.*
I swiped faster, the dates jumping backward in time.
*Mia: The earrings are perfect. Did she ask about the charge?* (Sent eight months ago).
*Kane: Told her it was a client gift. Don't worry about Iris. She handles the books, but she trusts me blindly.*
Blindly. The word tasted like copper in my mouth.
I kept scrolling. A year ago.
*Mia: First day at the office! So excited to work with you.*
*Kane: Wear that red skirt tomorrow. The one I like.*
One year. He had been sleeping with her since her very first week. While I managed his accounts, while I negotiated his contracts, he was buying her diamonds and taking her to Paris on 'business trips'.
My jaw clamped shut. No tears fell. The sadness had completely evaporated, leaving behind a cold, spreading void.
A notification popped up at the top of the screen.
From a contact named 'Investor - D. Miller'.
*Miller: The transfer is ready. Once we push Iris out of the board, the shares are yours.*
I stared at the glowing letters. The air in the room suddenly felt thin.
He wasn't just cheating. He was stealing my life's work. He was planning to force me out of the very company I built for him.
The shower stopped running. Footsteps echoed on the bathroom tile.
I locked the screen and placed the phone exactly where I found it, sliding back into my spot on the sofa.
My own phone vibrated in my pocket.
I pulled it out. A text from Ethan.
*Ethan: Found something you need to see. Check your email. It's worse than we thought.*
