Clayton crossed the room in three massive strides. He snatched the crystal whiskey glass from Emaline's hand and hurled it at the stone fireplace.
The glass shattered into a hundred glittering pieces, the amber liquid hissing violently against the hot bricks.
Emaline didn't flinch. She stood perfectly still, her hands resting lightly on her hips. She looked up at his furious face and let out a soft, mocking laugh.
"Look at you," Emaline taunted, her voice smooth as silk. "The great Clayton Caldwell, losing his mind because his precious little sister had to sit in the dark for an hour. Where is your aristocratic poise?"
Clayton planted both hands on the back of the sofa, trapping Emaline between his body and the furniture. His massive frame blocked out the light. The scent of rain and cold fury rolled off him in waves.
"If you ever pull a stunt like that again," Clayton warned, his voice dropping to a lethal, vibrating whisper. "If you ever put Crista in danger again, I will make you wish you had died on that operating table."
Emaline tilted her chin up. She leaned closer to him, her nose inches from his jaw.
"You already killed me, Clayton," she whispered, her eyes dead and hollow. "Five years ago. You can't threaten a ghost."
The words hit Clayton squarely in the chest. His breath hitched. The image of Emaline flatlining in the hospital flashed behind his eyes, followed by a sickening wave of nausea. He hated her. He was supposed to hate her. But the sight of her pale, defiant face was tearing him apart from the inside.
He pushed off the sofa violently, putting distance between them before he did something he would regret. He straightened his tie, his face hardening back into a mask of stone.
"Tomorrow morning at nine," Clayton commanded coldly. "I want the divorce papers signed. You get nothing. If you fight me, I will bury you."
He turned and walked out the door, his bodyguards trailing behind him like shadows.
The moment the front door clicked shut, the strength drained from Emaline's body. She collapsed onto the sofa, grabbing her left thigh as a fresh wave of pain radiated from her bruised stump.
The next morning, the sun rose over the Hamptons, casting long shadows across the estate.
Emaline sat at the dining table. The thick stack of divorce papers sat in front of her. She picked up a pen and signed her name on the final page. But she did not sign the waiver of assets.
She slid the papers into a manila envelope. She stood up and looked toward the second floor.
At the end of the hallway was Clayton's private study. It was the only room in the house that was strictly off-limits. He kept it locked at all times, trusting no one, not even the maids, to clean it.
Emaline knew that if she wanted the ten percent of Caldwell Group shares, she needed leverage. She needed the original prenuptial trust amendment that Clayton had hidden away.
She walked up the stairs, her left leg moving stiffly. She stopped in front of the heavy oak door.
The lock was a state-of-the-art digital keypad with a complex encryption firewall. Emaline stared at the glowing numbers. She typed in Clayton's birthday.
Red light. Error.
She typed in their wedding anniversary.
Red light. Error.
She gritted her teeth and typed in Crista's birthday.
Red light. Error.
Emaline paused. Her mind raced. She thought back to seven years ago. The kidnapping. The blood. The man who had taken a bullet and a beating for her. Clayton's twin brother. Chace.
Her fingers hovered over the keypad. With a trembling hand, she typed in Chace's birthday.
Beep. Green light.
The heavy lock clicked open. Emaline's heart slammed against her ribs. She pushed the door open, slipped inside, and quietly locked it behind her.
The study smelled of old paper, leather, and cedar. The curtains were drawn. In the center of the room sat a massive mahogany desk.
Emaline limped to the desk and began pulling open the drawers. She sifted through corporate files and tax documents, searching for the trust amendment.
In the bottom right drawer, she found a heavy, black steel lockbox.
She grabbed a silver letter opener from the desk. She jammed the sharp tip under the latch of the lockbox and pried it upward with all her strength. The cheap metal latch snapped.
Emaline opened the lid. There were no financial documents inside.
Instead, there was a thick stack of medical files. The logo at the top belonged to an elite, highly confidential psychiatric institute in Switzerland.
Emaline pulled the files out. She looked at the patient name printed in bold black letters across the top folder.
Patient: Chace Caldwell.
Emaline frowned, her brow furrowing in deep confusion. Chace was dead. He died seven years ago. Why did Clayton have his dead brother's psychiatric evaluation files hidden in a locked box in a locked room?
She opened the first folder. Her eyes scanned the medical jargon. Severe PTSD. Identity dissociation. Survivor's guilt.
Before she could read further, the sound of tires crunching on the gravel driveway echoed from outside.
Emaline froze.
Downstairs, the front door opened.
"Mr. Caldwell! You're back early," Brenda's surprised voice drifted up the stairs.
Panic seized Emaline's chest. Clayton was home.
She shoved the files back into the lockbox and slammed the lid shut. She pushed the box back into the drawer. In her frantic rush, her left foot caught the edge of the heavy mahogany desk.
A dull, muffled thud echoed in the quiet study, perfectly masked by the sudden, deafening crack of thunder outside the window.
Heavy, rapid footsteps pounded up the stairs. He was coming straight to the study.
Emaline backed away from the desk, her heart trapped in her throat.
The door handle turned violently. The door swung open.
Clayton stood in the doorway. His eyes swept the room and locked onto Emaline. His face was a terrifying mask of dark, absolute fury. He had caught her.
