The morning sun was a cruel interrogation lamp. Elena woke up in Sierra's guest room (Penthouse B), a headache splitting her skull in two.
For a moment, she lay still, hoping the night had been a nightmare. Then the memories crashed in. The Pierre. Quinn. The wrong room. Sebastian's bare chest.
She groaned and pulled the pillow over her face.
Sierra walked in with a tray of coffee and aspirin. "You okay? You vanished last night. I found you in the hallway looking like a ghost."
"I got lost," Elena lied, sitting up and swallowing the pills dry. "I fell asleep in the stairwell. It was pathetic."
Sierra looked skeptical but didn't push. "We need to get you a lawyer."
"I know."
Elena showered, scrubbing her skin until it was raw, trying to wash off the phantom sensation of Sebastian's weight on top of her. She dressed in borrowed clothes and took a cab back to the Sterling townhouse.
She expected a fight. She expected Julian to be apologetic, or at least defensive.
She didn't expect him to be sitting in the living room, drinking espresso, reading the Wall Street Journal as if the world hadn't ended.
Elena walked in and threw a manila envelope onto the coffee table. She had printed the draft divorce papers from the internet at Sierra's.
"Sign it," she said. Her voice was steady, cold.
Julian glanced at the papers. He didn't pick them up. He chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. "You're dramatic in the morning."
"I'm done, Julian. I saw you. I saw her. It's over."
Julian folded the newspaper meticulously. He stood up and walked over to her. He looked impeccable in his navy suit. "You want a divorce? Fine. Leave. Walk out that door. But know this: you leave with nothing. The pre-nup is ironclad. You get zero."
"I don't care about your money," Elena spat. "I have my own..."
"You have nothing," Julian interrupted. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number. He put it on speaker.
"Dr. Aris," Julian said cheerfully. "How is Arthur doing today?"
Elena froze. Her father.
The doctor's voice filled the room. "Stable, Mr. Sterling. But the ECMO machine and the experimental neural therapy are costly. We need the next installment of two hundred thousand by Monday to continue the treatment."
"Of course," Julian said, his eyes locking onto Elena's. "We wouldn't want to... have the Trust revoke the grant for his experimental protocol, would we?"
"Julian, no!" Elena lunged for the phone.
Julian caught her wrist effortlessly. "Thank you, Doctor. I'll handle it." He hung up.
He pulled her close, his breath hot on her ear. "Your father's insurance maxed out six months ago, Elena. I've been paying for everything. The lawyers, the machines that keep his heart beating. If you divorce me, the payments stop. Today."
Elena felt the blood drain from her face. Her knees buckled. She would have fallen if he hadn't been holding her up.
Her father. He was in a coma, fighting for his life after the company collapse. He was all she had left.
"You're a monster," she whispered.
"I'm a pragmatic man," Julian corrected. He released her, and she stumbled back. "We have a charity gala tonight. The Children's Hospital Benefit. You will wear the red dress. You will smile. You will be the perfect, adoring wife."
He checked his watch. "I have to go to work. Don't be late."
He walked out the front door, whistling.
Elena collapsed onto the Persian rug-Julian's favorite rug. She stared up at the crystal chandelier. It looked like a cage of diamonds.
She reached for her phone to call her old family lawyer. Service Suspended.
She checked her bank app. Account Frozen.
He had boxed her in. He had anticipated every move. She wasn't a wife; she was a hostage.
A maid walked into the room with a vacuum cleaner. She looked at Elena sitting on the floor with cold indifference. "Ma'am, please move. I need to clean the rug."
Elena stood up. She walked to the bathroom. She turned on the shower, letting the water run scalding hot. She stepped in, fully clothed.
She sat under the spray, letting the water soak her borrowed jeans. She didn't cry. She had no tears left.
Instead, a cold, hard knot formed in her chest.
He thinks he has won, she thought. He thinks I am weak.
She looked at her hand. She flexed her fingers.
I will not just leave, she vowed. I will burn this house down with him inside it.
