Chapter 3

The call connects almost instantly. A deep voice comes through.

"Well, well. Ethan finally kicked you out?"

I stare out the window.

"Nathan. You win."

"I'm done with every Ashford case. But I need you to do something for me."

The man on the other end lets out a low laugh.

"Just say the word. Forget one favor—I'd hand you all of Manhattan on a silver platter."

"Tell me. What do you need?"

My eyes go ice-cold. I say it slowly, word by word.

"I want Ashford Group's cash flow to collapse. Within one month."

Over the next few days, Ethan doesn't show his face.

He probably thinks I'm somewhere panicking over my firm, ready to crawl back to him any second.

What he doesn't know—

I've already cashed out my shares in the firm at a premium and quietly taken over Foster Corp's core legal work on the East Coast.

That afternoon, I'm walking out of the Foster Corp building after a meeting.

My phone rings. It's the vet.

"Ms. Morgan, something's happened to your cat!"

My chest seizes. I race to the clinic.

I push through the door and find Snowball on the operating table, soaked in blood, barely breathing.

The vet's hands are covered in red. His face says everything.

"Ms. Morgan, the cat suffered severe blunt force trauma. Ruptured organs. We did everything we could…"

My mind goes blank.

Snowball was a birthday gift from my parents.

She got me through countless sleepless, lonely nights.

My hands tremble as I stroke her blood-matted fur.

Snowball forces her eyes open one last time. She looks at me. Then she stops breathing.

"Who did this?"

I barely recognize my own voice.

The vet sighs and pulls up the security footage from the entrance camera.

On screen—Vanessa, wearing sunglasses, holding a golf club.

Her bodyguard drags Snowball out of the carrier.

Vanessa swings without hesitation. The club comes down hard on Snowball's body.

Again. And again. And again.

She doesn't stop until Snowball goes limp. Then she kicks the body away in disgust.

"Stupid animal scratched me. Who does it think it is?"

She turns to the bodyguard.

"Dump it on the curb. Don't let Ethan see this mess."

I stare at the screen. My nails are digging into my palms so deep I can't even feel it.

I pull out my phone and call the police.

Half an hour later, the officers walk me into what used to be my home.

The door opens. Vanessa is curled up in Ethan's arms.

She sees the cops and shrieks, ducking behind him.

"Ethan, I'm scared…"

Ethan puts himself between us, glaring at me.

"Stella, what the hell is wrong with you now?"

"You brought cops to my house? Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?"

I look at him. No warmth. No emotion.

"Vanessa is being reported for intentional destruction of property and animal cruelty."

Ethan blinks. Then he sneers.

"Over that stupid cat?"

"Stella, are you out of your mind? It's a cat. It's dead. So what? I'll buy you ten more."

"Vanessa is pregnant. She can't handle this kind of stress. Take your people and get out."

I look at the man in front of me. He's a stranger.

"That was my cat. The last thing my parents ever gave me."

"She was just a cat. What did she ever do to deserve being beaten to death?"

Vanessa peeks out from behind Ethan, crying on cue.

"Stella, stop making things up."

"That cat went crazy and tried to claw my belly. I was protecting the Ashford heir. It was self-defense."

"Or does a cat matter more to you than I do?"

Ethan's eyes sharpen to blades.

He charges forward and raises his hand.

Crack.

The slap lands hard across my face.

Blood seeps from the corner of my lip. My ears ring.

Ethan jabs his finger at me and screams.

"Stella, how evil can you possibly be?"

"You can't have kids yourself, so you use a damn animal to hurt mine?"

"If anything—anything—happens to Vanessa's baby, you will pay for it with your life!"

The officer steps between us and pulls Ethan back.

"Mr. Ashford, calm down. Striking someone in front of police is an arrestable offense."

Ethan doesn't even flinch. He smirks and adjusts his cuffs.

"Arrest me? Your captain wouldn't dare look me in the eye. I'm disciplining my wife. Try it."

He turns back to me. Pure threat.

"Stella. Last chance."

"Drop the charges. Get on your knees and apologize to Vanessa."

"Or I will make damn sure you never work in this city again."

I wipe the blood from my lip and stare at the two of them.

The rage burns so hot it flips all the way back to calm.

"Ethan, that slap just killed the last shred of anything between us."

"You want kids so badly?"

"Then I wish you all the best—a whole houseful of them."

I turn to the officer.

"Officer, the surveillance footage has been submitted. Please proceed by the book."

I walk out without looking back.

Behind me, Ethan's voice cracks with fury.

"Stella! Don't you dare walk away!"

"I told you to stay home and think about what you've done. So why are you here?"