The elevator chimed with a soft, electronic ping.
The polished steel doors slid open. Evelyn stepped out into the massive, gold-leafed lobby of the Manhattan high-rise. Her face was a mask of cold stone. Her heels struck the marble floor with military precision.
She walked straight toward the front exit. The heavy glass revolving doors sensed her approach and began to turn slowly.
Evelyn pushed past the glass and stepped out onto the sidewalk of Fifth Avenue.
Instantly, the gray afternoon exploded into blinding white light.
Dozens of camera flashes went off at once, hitting her eyes like physical blows. The paparazzi were swarming behind the velvet security ropes. They looked like a pack of starving sharks smelling blood in the water. They shoved their massive lenses forward, screaming her name, desperate to capture a single tear or a look of defeat on the face of the newly divorced heiress.
Evelyn didn't flinch. Her face remained completely blank. She reached into her bag, pulled out a pair of oversized black sunglasses, and slid them onto her face, hiding her eyes completely. She didn't break her stride. She walked straight toward the black Maybach idling at the curb.
She reached out to grab the chrome door handle.
Suddenly, a flash of blinding, cheap red fabric stepped directly into her path, blocking the car door.
Skyler Croft stood there. She was squeezed into a deep-V haute couture red dress that was entirely inappropriate for a Tuesday afternoon. She held a massive, obnoxious bouquet of red roses in her arms. Her chin was tilted up in an arrogant, triumphant pose.
Ishmael Chen, Evelyn's head of security, moved instantly. A sharp warning crackled in his earpiece from the advance scout. He immediately pivoted, using his massive frame to form a human wall, successfully intercepting Skyler three meters away from the vehicle. His eyes were flat and cold, assessing the threat.
Skyler completely ignored the massive bodyguard blocking her path. She looked past Evelyn toward the glass doors of the building. She pitched her voice high and loud, making sure every camera microphone could pick it up.
"Kalen!" she called out, her voice dripping with fake sweetness.
Evelyn's stomach dropped. She turned her head slightly, following Skyler's gaze.
Kalen was walking out of the revolving doors. His hands were casually shoved into the pockets of his trousers. His bodyguard, Bodhi, walked a step behind him. Kalen's face was unreadable. He walked with a slow, deliberate arrogance.
The paparazzi went absolutely feral. The screaming doubled in volume. The camera lenses instantly pivoted away from Evelyn, locking onto Kalen and the woman in red. It was the ultimate explosive shot: the billionaire ex-husband and the rumored new mistress, right in front of the discarded wife.
Skyler smirked at Evelyn. She swayed her hips and walked right past Ishmael, who had to hold his position to protect Evelyn's flank, stepping directly in front of Kalen. She held the massive bouquet of red roses out to him.
Kalen didn't take the flowers. He didn't push them away, either. He just stood there. His eyes bypassed Skyler completely and locked dead onto Evelyn's face.
Skyler took his silence as permission. She turned her head back to Evelyn. A nasty, triumphant smile stretched across her glossy lips.
"Thank you, Miss Beaumont," Skyler said loudly, making sure her voice carried over the clicking cameras. "Thank you for finally giving Kalen back to me."
A collective gasp rippled through the pack of paparazzi. The rapid-fire clicking of the shutters sounded like machine-gun fire.
Evelyn's fingers tightened around the handle of her Birkin bag. The leather creaked under her grip. Her knuckles turned white. A hot, violent spark of pure rage ignited in the center of her chest and rapidly spread to her limbs.
She stared at Kalen. She waited for him to speak. She waited for him to tell this cheap pawn to shut her mouth.
Kalen did nothing. He stood perfectly still, his hands in his pockets. His dark eyes watched Evelyn through the chaos, cold and detached. He was enjoying the show.
The realization hit Evelyn like a physical punch to the gut. Kalen had orchestrated this. He had allowed this woman to come here just to publicly humiliate her.
Skyler saw Evelyn standing in silence. She mistook the silence for weakness. She took a step closer, her confidence swelling.
"You really are a loser, aren't you?" Skyler sneered, her voice dropping a fraction but still loud enough for the closest reporters to hear. "You couldn't keep your man, and now you're just a sad, discarded-"
Ishmael lunged forward to physically remove the woman.
Evelyn raised her left hand. It was a sharp, commanding gesture. Ishmael froze instantly and stepped back.
Evelyn reached up and slowly pulled the black sunglasses off her face. Her ice-blue eyes were exposed. They were completely devoid of warmth, sharp and terrifying. She locked her gaze onto Skyler.
Skyler's arrogant smile faltered. Her body stiffened instinctively under the crushing weight of Evelyn's stare. The fake bravado drained out of her face.
Evelyn let go of the Maybach's door handle. She turned her body fully toward Skyler. She took one slow step forward. Her red-soled heel clicked against the concrete. Then another step.
Skyler's eyes darted nervously. Her feet twitched, wanting to step back, but she forced herself to stay planted in front of Kalen. She wanted to prove she belonged there.
Evelyn stopped right in front of Skyler. They were so close Evelyn could smell the overwhelming, cheap synthetic vanilla perfume radiating from the woman's neck.
Evelyn let out a low, dark scoff. She let her eyes drag slowly up and down Skyler's red dress, looking at her as if she were a piece of rotting garbage left on the curb.
The sheer contempt in the look made Skyler flush dark red with anger. She opened her mouth, her voice shrill. "You dumped-"
Before the word could fully leave Skyler's mouth, Evelyn's right arm snapped up.
The movement was a blur. The air whipped sharply.
Evelyn's open palm slammed into the side of Skyler's heavily contoured face with the full, violent force of her body weight.
