Flint's grip on her wrist was like a vice. He didn't speak as he dragged her out of the dining room, down the hall, and into the library. He shoved her inside and slammed the heavy mahogany door, locking it with a sharp twist.
He threw her onto the leather sofa. His chest was heaving.
"Have you lost your mind?" he roared. "That was the Chairwoman of the Board!"
Jonna rubbed her red wrist, looking up at him calmly. "That was your grandmother. Not my boss."
Flint paced the room, running a hand through his hair. "What is that photo? You're spying on me?"
"Your mistress sent it to me," Jonna said. She stood up and reached into her purse. "She's more honest than you are."
Flint stopped. He looked at the phone in his hand. He saw the text message history she hadn't deleted yet.
"That stupid woman," he muttered.
It was the final nail. He wasn't sorry he cheated. He was sorry she was stupid enough to text his wife.
Jonna pulled out a folded document. It was the draft of the divorce agreement she had been carrying for weeks.
She slapped it onto the desk. "Prenup Article 14. 'Gross Infidelity' resulting in public scandal allows for immediate termination with compensation. Sign it."
Flint looked at the paper, then at her. A slow, cold sneer spread across his face.
He walked around the desk and sat in his grandfather's high-backed chair. The panic was gone, replaced by the shark-like demeanor he wore in boardrooms.
"You think you can leave?" he asked softly. "The IPO is next month. If we divorce now, the stock tanks. I won't allow it."
"I have proof," Jonna said. "If you don't sign, I send that photo to TMZ."
Flint leaned back, steepling his fingers. He studied her for a long moment.
"Serena's lying," he said.
Jonna blinked. "What?"
"The baby isn't mine," Flint said, his voice devoid of emotion. "It can't be."
"Don't lie to me, Flint. I saw the texts."
"I had a vasectomy," Flint said. "Three years ago. Before we got married."
The room spun. Jonna gripped the edge of the desk. She watched his eyes, searching for the tell she'd been trained to spot in liars. There was a flicker, almost imperceptible, a microsecond of tension in his jaw. He was bluffing.
"A... vasectomy?"
"I didn't want distractions," Flint said with a shrug. "I froze samples, of course. But naturally? Impossible."
Jonna's mind raced. If he had a vasectomy... then Serena was lying. Or it wasn't his.
But then... her baby.
The baby growing inside her right now.
If Flint believed he was sterile, and he found out Jonna was pregnant...
He would think she cheated.
He would think it was an affair baby. He would destroy her. He would use the adultery clause in the prenup to strip her of everything, leave her penniless, and drag her name through the mud.
Flint stood up and walked toward her. "So, there is no bastard child. Your leverage is gone."
Jonna's heart hammered against her ribs. This was a trap. A logical dead end.
"Trust is broken regardless," she managed to say, her voice trembling. "I want to leave."
"You're not going anywhere," Flint said, looming over her. "You are my wife until I say otherwise."





