Miriam's network moves like water.
I don't see most of it. That's the point. Shell companies with names like Clearview Holdings and Meridian Capital Partners—entities that exist only on paper, registered in Delaware, managed by lawyers who bill by the hour and ask no questions. They buy Larson Group shares in small increments. Three percent here. Two point four percent there. Never enough to trigger SEC reporting thresholds. Never in patterns obvious enough to draw attention.
Miriam sends updates in clipped texts. *4.1% total.* Then, three days later: *6.2%.* A week after that: *9.8%.*
I track every acquisition in a spreadsheet that lives on an encrypted drive. The numbers climb slowly. Steadily. Like a tide that doesn't announce itself until you're already underwater.
"Your mother is terrifying," Nadia says one afternoon. We're in my apartment, paperwork spread across every surface. "I mean that as a compliment."
"She knows," I say.
Nadia picks up a shell company filing, scans it, sets it down. "How many shareholders are left?"
"Eighteen that matter. The rest are too small or too loyal."
"Loyal to Travis?"
"Loyal to Augustine."
Nadia leans back in her chair. "Speaking of—he's helping you, isn't he?"
I don't answer immediately. I press two fingers against my wrist. Three beats.
"I don't know what you mean," I say.
But I do.
Last week, a FedEx envelope arrived at my apartment. No return address. Inside: copies of voting proxy agreements from 1987, back when the Larson Group was still a regional firm and Augustine was consolidating control. Arcane procedural documents that most people would need a legal translator to understand.
I understood them perfectly.
Buried in the fine print: a clause allowing any shareholder with ten percent or more to call an emergency board meeting with only fourteen days' notice. The kind of obscure provision that gets written into bylaws and then forgotten for thirty years.
Someone wanted me to find it.
Nadia's still watching me. "He feels guilty," she says quietly.
"Guilt doesn't fix anything."
"No," Nadia agrees. "But it's useful."
I pick up my phone. Another text from Miriam: *11.3%. Two more targets confirmed.*
I set the phone down. "We need twelve percent to be safe. Fifteen to be certain."
"How long?"
"Six weeks. Maybe less."
Nadia nods. She pulls a thick folder from her briefcase and slides it across the table. "Divorce filing templates. I've drafted three versions depending on how aggressive you want to be."
I open the folder. The first document is titled *Petition for Dissolution of Marriage—Uncontested*. The second: *Contested with Asset Division Claims*. The third is thicker than the other two combined.
"What's the third one?" I ask.
"Scorched earth," Nadia says. "Fraud claims. Emotional damages. A request for forensic accounting of every joint asset acquired during the marriage. If you file that version, Travis will be in depositions for a year."
I stare at the document. My name is already filled in at the top. *Sloane Peterson v. Travis Larson.*
"Which one do you recommend?" I ask.
"Depends," Nadia says. "Do you want a clean exit or do you want him to suffer?"
I close the folder. "I want him to understand what he lost. Suffering is just a side effect."
Nadia almost smiles. "Then we go with version two. Contested. Enough teeth to make him pay attention, not so much that it looks vindictive."
"When do we file?"
"Same week as the board meeting," Nadia says. "Hit him from both sides at once. Corporate and personal. He won't have time to mount a defense for either."
I nod slowly. The logic is sound. The timing is perfect.
"He'll try to delay," I say.
"Of course he will. But New York law doesn't care what he wants. You've been separated for six months. You have grounds. And once the filing is public, every society page in the city will be running headlines."
I imagine it. *Larson Heir's Wife Files for Divorce Amid Affair Scandal.* The photos of him and Hayden suddenly recontextualized. Not a love story. A betrayal.
"Good," I say.
Nadia starts packing up her files. "You're different," she says. Not a question. An observation.
"Different how?"
"Colder. Clearer." She pauses. "I don't mean that as criticism."
"I know."
She zips her briefcase. "There's a real estate development gala next week. You should go."
I frown. "Why?"
"Because you need to be seen. You've been invisible for months. People are starting to whisper that you're hiding. That you're broken." Nadia meets my eyes. "Show them you're not."
She's right. I know she's right.
"Fine," I say. "Send me the details."
---
The gala is at the Javits Center. Two thousand people in evening wear, pretending to care about sustainable urban development while networking and drinking champagne that costs more than most people's rent.
I wear black. Simple lines. No jewelry except small diamond studs that used to be my mother's. My hair is pulled back. My makeup is minimal.
I look like someone who doesn't need to try.
The room is all glass and steel, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Hudson. I take a champagne flute from a passing server and don't drink it. Just hold it. A prop.
People I half-recognize nod as I pass. A few approach with careful smiles and cautious questions. I answer in polite monosyllables and keep moving.
Then I see him.
He's standing near the west windows, talking to a group of developers I don't recognize. Tall. Dark hair starting to gray at the temples. Well-tailored suit that doesn't announce itself. He's listening more than talking, his expression calm and attentive.
Matheo Martinez.
I know the name. Everyone in real estate does. Old Los Angeles money. Projects in six cities. A reputation for being smart, fair, and impossible to rush.
He glances up. Our eyes meet for half a second.
I look away first.
Three weeks later, our investment groups share a morning meeting. Some downtown redevelopment pitch that Miriam insisted I attend. I arrive early. The conference room is still empty except for the coffee station set up in the corner.
I'm pouring a cup—black, no sugar—when Matheo walks in.
"Ms. Peterson," he says. His voice is low. Unhurried.
"Mr. Martinez."
He moves to the coffee station. Pours his own cup. Then he picks up a second cup, adds cream and one sugar, and sets it on the table in front of the seat I was heading toward.
I stare at it.
"You take it with cream and sugar," he says. Not a question.
I look at him. "How did you know that?"
"I pay attention," he says simply.
For a moment I don't move. The cup sits there, steam rising.
Then I sit down. Pick it up. Take a sip.
It's perfect.
"Thank you," I say.
Matheo nods and takes the seat across from me. He doesn't say anything else. Doesn't ask how I'm doing or mention my husband or try to fill the silence.
He just sits. Steady. Present.
And for the first time in months, I feel something other than cold.
Curiosity.
