I caught the shift in his mood and pulled up a smile, patting the back of his hand and leaning close to his ear.
‘Mr. Chavez, don't worry. I'll have this handled today. It won't affect our partnership, and it absolutely won't reach your boss.’
That settled him considerably.
My reputation in Sterling City's business circles still carried real weight.
I gave my assistant a look, and she escorted Mr. Chavez to the executive elevator.
I watched his back disappear from sight.
Then I turned to Anita, my voice perfectly flat.
‘My properties and my company were built from nothing before the marriage. They have absolutely nothing to do with the Fox family.’
‘Nothing to do with us?!’
Anita looked like she'd just heard the funniest joke of her life.
‘We've got the marriage certificate! You're part of our family now—your money is our money! And with that attitude of yours, forget just the office tower and the shares—that's not gonna be enough anymore!’
‘I want that riverside villa you just bought too! Louis already told me the views are gorgeous. Perfect for retirees!’
‘I'm telling you right now—if you don't get all of this done today, I'll be right here on this floor every single day. I'll lie here till your company can't do a damn thing!’
Anita had done her math. She knew I valued my reputation and cared about my business, and she was betting I'd cave just to make this go away.
I looked at her, and there was no rage, no panic—nothing left inside me but cold……
I should have seen this coming……
Louis pressing me day and night to get married, the endless wearing-down until he dragged me to the County Clerk's Office, then Anita storming in today to seize assets in broad daylight—and what she'd just let slip, the way Louis had described that villa to her—all of it, every step, a carefully orchestrated ‘scam’.
But for all their scheming, they'd miscalculated one thing.
I was Carmen Winfield,
and I had never been anyone's fool.
I drew out my phone, slowly, and let my finger hover over the screen.
‘Keep this up, and I'm calling the police—for disturbing the peace and trying to seize my property.’
The smugness on Anita's face froze solid.
And in that same instant,
Louis burst through the doors, drenched in sweat.
I laughed to myself. Perfect timing. Right on cue.
He was wearing the limited-edition shirt I'd bought him, every hair combed into place.
The moment he came through the door he jogged toward me, reaching to slip an arm around my waist.
I sidestepped without a flicker of expression.
His hand hung in the air. Something sharp passed through his eyes, gone almost before it registered, buried under a warm, tender mask.
He turned to Anita and dropped his voice, pitching it deliberately stern.
‘Mom, how could you come to Carmen's company and start trouble?! Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is?!’
He helped Anita to her feet.
In the enormous mirror behind him,
I caught the deliberate little gesture he made at Anita's back—a quick, practiced prompt.
Anita dusted herself off, stood up on cue, and put on her most wounded expression.
‘I'm only looking out for the two of you! You've already got the marriage certificate. A husband and wife who aren't on the same page? That'll never work! People always say, where the money goes, that's where the heart is!’
Mother and son, call and response.
A flawless performance.
Louis turned back, took my hand, his voice soft but threaded with a pressure that left no room for refusal.
‘Carmen, my mom's just anxious about our future. We're already legally married. Why get hung up over things like this?’
‘What's mine is yours, what's yours is mine. Just put my name on things, sign over the house and the shares—don't make this difficult for me, okay?’
He delivered every word with perfect sincerity. The onlookers who didn't know any better were already nodding along.
