Butler stood at his full height. He loomed over Eleonora, his broad shoulders blocking the light from the windows.
He didn't look at the document on the table. He didn't look at the executives. He only looked at her.
"Get out," Butler said. His voice was dangerously low.
The executives scrambled. Chairs scraped violently against the floor. They grabbed their files and practically ran for the double doors. Jesse Meyer gave Eleonora one last worried look before pulling the heavy doors shut behind him.
The click of the latch echoed in the massive, empty room.
Eleonora didn't back down. She tilted her chin up to meet his gaze.
"I want the shares transferred by tomorrow," she said, her voice cold. "And I want the divorce papers filed immediately."
Butler took a slow step around the table. He walked toward her. His leather shoes made a heavy, rhythmic thud against the floor.
He stopped inches from her. He was so close she could smell his cologne-a sharp mix of cedar and cold mint. Her stomach tightened. Her body remembered that smell.
Butler reached out and picked up the legal document she had slammed on the table.
He looked at it for one second. Then, he gripped the top edge and ripped it straight down the middle.
He dropped the torn pieces onto the floor like trash.
Eleonora's eyes flashed with anger. "That is a legally binding demand."
Butler let out a harsh laugh. He leaned down, his face inches from hers.
"If you try to sue me for a divorce," he whispered, his breath brushing her cheek, "I will have you arrested for faking your own death and attempting to defraud a federal institution. You'll spend the rest of your life in a federal prison."
Eleonora's breath hitched. Her lungs seized. She knew he wasn't bluffing. He owned half the judges in New York.
She forced a mocking smile onto her lips. "You didn't file the papers five years ago because you're a coward, Butler. You couldn't handle the truth."
The word coward hit a nerve.
Butler's eyes turned pitch black. His hand shot out. His long fingers clamped around her jaw, holding her head in place. His grip was bruising.
Eleonora gasped, but she refused to look away. She glared at him, her eyes burning with hatred.
They stared at each other, their chests heaving, the air crackling with toxic, violent energy.
Suddenly, Butler let go of her face. He turned and walked to the far corner of the boardroom. He pressed his thumb against a hidden biometric scanner on the wall. A small steel safe slid open.
Eleonora rubbed her sore jaw. She watched him warily.
Butler reached into the safe and pulled out a small, black velvet box.
He walked back to her. He flipped the box open with his thumb.
Inside sat a massive, ten-carat pink diamond ring. The stone caught the light, throwing sharp pink reflections across the walls.
Eleonora's eyes widened.
Before she could react, Butler grabbed her left hand. His grip was brutal, locking her wrist in place. His hand was shaking slightly.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" Eleonora yelled. She tried to yank her hand back.
Butler ignored her struggles. He pulled the diamond ring from the box. He forced it onto her ring finger. He pushed it hard over her knuckle.
The metal scraped her skin, but it slid perfectly into place. It was an exact fit.
Butler stared at the ring on her finger. A sick, twisted look of satisfaction flashed across his face.
Eleonora grabbed the ring with her right hand. She pulled at it, trying to rip it off. It wouldn't budge. It was stuck tight below her knuckle.
"Take this off me!" she demanded, her voice rising in panic.
Butler stepped into her space, forcing her to step back until her lower back hit the edge of the boardroom table. He placed his hands on the table on either side of her hips, trapping her.
"You are going to wear that ring," Butler ordered. "You are going to play the perfect Holloway wife."
"Why would I ever do that?" she spat.
"Because the family trust is under federal audit," he said smoothly. "And I am in the middle of a ten-billion-dollar merger. I will not have a scandal about my dead wife coming back to life and demanding a divorce."
Eleonora laughed bitterly. "You think I care about your merger?"
Butler leaned closer. His eyes were dead and cold.
"If you don't play your part," he whispered, "I will use every resource I have to destroy whatever pathetic life you built in Europe over the last five years. I will burn it to the ground."
Eleonora's blood turned to ice.
An image of Noah, Leo, and Chloe flashed in her mind. If Butler started digging into her life in Europe, he would find the twins. He would find Noah. He would take her children away.
Her struggles stopped. Her hands dropped to her sides.
Butler felt the fight leave her body. A triumphant smirk touched the corner of his mouth. He reached up and slowly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Eleonora flinched away from his touch. She looked at him with pure disgust.
"Fine," she hissed through her teeth. "I'll play your game. But I swear to God, Butler, I will make you regret it."
