Stellan Thorne walked into my law firm with his third pregnant mistress. And asked me to draft a property transfer agreement for her. His friends stood off to the side, taking bets on how many seconds it would take before I lost control. I didn't say a word as the thick stack of papers printed out. Stellan pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice low. "Her body can't handle the physical toll of labor." "Ines. Once the babies are born, you'll legally adopt them. You are the only Mrs. Thorne." I slid the notarized trust agreement across the desk without a word. Out of professional habit, I gave him one last warning. "This is legally binding." Stellan took the papers, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He pushed divorce papers across the table toward me, his tone softening. "Sign it. It's just a formality." "She's healthy enough to carry. Once the babies are born and you adopt them, the Board will stop breathing down your neck about being barren." "You'll always be Mrs. Thorne. I'm doing this to protect you." I'd played along with this charade twice before. This time, I signed without hesitation. Then I turned and slipped on the ten-carat pink diamond ring. The one that the Wall Street kingpin had given me. …… Faye Lawson stroked her swollen belly, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Stellan, is Ines upset with me?" "Look, she even bought herself a ring." Stellan's eyes locked onto my ring finger. His jaw tightened, irritation flashing across his face. "Ines, knock it off." "You think some cheap piece of glass is going to change my mind?" I pushed the signed divorce papers back across the desk. "It's done. Tomorrow morning in my lawyer's office. Let's discuss the distribution of assets." The room went dead silent for a moment. Then Stellan's buddies burst into laughter. "Ines, you've been playing hard to get for three years. Aren't you bored yet?" "Seriously. Stellan just wants an heir. You can't give him one, so why block everyone else?" "What kind of selfish woman does that?" Stellan rubbed his temples, clearly fed up with my stubbornness. "Ines, stop this." "Faye's carrying twins. The doctor said the pregnancy is high-risk. She needs bed rest." Faye leaned into Stellan's chest, her eyes welling up with crocodile tears. "Stellan, I don't want our babies to grow up in some hidden apartment like they're shameful." She looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes. "Ines, could I stay at your penthouse while I'm on bed rest? The security is better there, and it's closer to the hospital." That penthouse was the inheritance my parents left me before they died in a car crash. "That's my pre-marital property." Faye flinched like I'd slapped her, tears streaming down her face. "Ines, don't be so mean. I'm only thinking of the babies." "If you don't want to, fine. I'll just take them back to my hometown." Stellan pulled her closer and turned to me, his voice hard with authority. "Ines, why are you making this difficult?" "The place is sitting empty anyway. Move out tonight and let Faye move in." I stared at the face I used to love. The woman I'd been back then seemed pathetic now. "Stellan, do you not understand English?" "That's my property." Stellan's expression darkened. "Ines, it's just a penthouse. Once the babies are born, you'll get it back." "Faye is pregnant. Think of the bigger picture." His friends chimed in from the sidelines. "Ines, Faye's carrying the Thorne heirs. You can't spare one apartment?" I looked at Stellan calmly. "And if I refuse?" Stellan let out a cold laugh and pulled out his phone. "Your firm's biggest client is Thorne Enterprises, isn't it?" "Ines, you're a smart woman. You know what to do. Don't make me use leverage." For his mistress, he was threatening the career I'd built from nothing. I looked at the smug certainty in his eyes and suddenly smiled. "Fine. I'll move out." Stellan blinked, clearly not expecting me to cave so easily. Satisfaction flickered in his eyes, and his tone softened. "Good. Be reasonable, and I'll take care of you." "Move back to the Thorne Estate tonight. Tomorrow my assistant will help Faye settle in." I stood and let my gaze sweep over all of them. "I'll have it cleared out tonight." "Stellan, I hope you don't regret this." Stellan scoffed. "It's just temporary while Faye's on bed rest. The penthouse is still yours. Stop being dramatic." Faye tilted her chin up and shot me a triumphant smirk. I didn't spare them another glance as I walked out of the office. As the door closed behind me, I could still hear his boys laughing. "Stellan's got her wrapped around his finger." "Once those twins are born, Stellan will have three kids. Three!" Three kids? I laughed under my breath. I hoped he'd still be smiling when he learned the truth.
That night, a storm rolled in. I went back to the Central Park penthouse to pack. There wasn't much to take. I didn't touch a single thing that belonged to Stellan. I took my parents' photo and my five-year-old Ragdoll cat, Snowball. Snowball seemed to sense my mood and gently licked my fingers. The lock beeped. Stellan walked in, rain dripping from his coat. He saw the suitcase by the door and his expression hardened. "You're actually leaving?" "Ines, I told you to move back to the Estate. What the hell are you packing for?" I stuffed the last coat into my suitcase and zipped it shut. "The papers are signed. Why would I go back to the Estate?" "Save your energy for your precious twins." Stellan strode over and slammed his hand down on my suitcase. "Are you done throwing your tantrum?" "I told you the divorce is just a formality. Why are you making this difficult?" "You're a woman. Without me, without the Thorne family, where the hell do you think you're going?" His eyes were full of certainty. He thought I couldn't survive on my own. I shoved his hand off. "Where I go is none of your concern anymore." Stellan's face darkened. He was about to explode when Faye's call came through. Her voice on the other end was a whimpering mess. "Stellan, I'm scared without you here." "The thunder is so loud. My stomach hurts. What if something's wrong with the babies?" Stellan's expression shifted to panic. "Faye, don't worry. I'm coming right now." He hung up and shot me a cold glare. "Ines, you better pray nothing happens to Faye's babies." "Otherwise, I will never forgive you." He turned and disappeared into the storm. I watched his retreating figure and felt nothing but contempt. When I was bleeding out in the operating room from an ectopic pregnancy, where was he? He was touring venues for his first mistress's kid's shower. I closed my eyes and buried that humiliating memory. I grabbed my suitcase, scooped up Snowball, and left the penthouse for good. The next morning, I showed up on time at my lawyer's office, waited until the close of business. Stellan never showed. He didn't answer a single call. As I was leaving, one of his friends called me instead. "Ines, do you have any conscience at all?" "Faye had complications last night. Stellan was at the hospital with her all night, and you're still pushing him to finalize the divorce?" "Are you trying to kill his babies? Is that what you want?" My voice was flat and emotionless. "If he's busy, we can reschedule." I hung up and headed straight to my firm. The moment I walked through the door, I could feel the tension. My assistant Clara rushed over, her eyes red and frantic. "Ines, we have a problem." "Thorne Enterprises' Legal Department just sent an email. They've terminated all contracts with us, effective immediately." "And they're telling other clients that anyone who works with us is declaring war on Thorne." I stopped in my tracks, my eyes going cold. Stellan was trying to force me to crawl back. He thought cutting off my income would make me submit. I opened my laptop to find a dozen termination emails from the major clients I'd spent years building relationships with. My phone buzzed with a text from Stellan. [Apologize to Faye. Promise to behave and stay, Mrs. Thorne. I'll restore the contracts.] [Ines, don't test my patience.] I stared at the screen and laughed. He always had that same condescending, magnanimous tone. I didn't reply. Then I blocked his number and dialed someone else. The call connected immediately. A man's deep voice came through the line. "So Stellan finally kicked you to the curb?" "Evander, you win." I stared out the window. "I don't want Thorne's business anymore. But I need you to do something for me."
The man on the other end let out a low laugh. "Name it. I'd hand you all of Wall Street if you asked." "What do you need?" My voice turned ice-cold. "I want Thorne Enterprises to go into financial freefall within a month." Over the next few days, Stellan didn't show his face. He probably assumed I was somewhere scrambling to save my firm, ready to come crawling back any second. He had no idea. I'd already sold my stake in the firm for a fortune and quietly taken over all of Sinclair Group's North American legal operations. That afternoon, I'd just finished a meeting at Sinclair Tower when my phone rang. The vet clinic. "Ms. Kensington, something's happened to your cat!" My heart seized. I drove straight to the clinic. I pushed through the door to find Snowball lying on the operating table, blood matting her white fur, barely breathing. The vet's hands were covered in blood, his face grim. "Ms. Kensington, she was beaten with a blunt object. Internal damage. We did everything we could." My mind went blank. Snowball was a birthday gift from my parents. She'd stayed with me through countless sleepless, lonely nights. My hands trembled as I stroked her bloodstained fur. Snowball struggled to open her eyes one last time, looked at me, and then stopped breathing. "Who did this?" My voice came out hoarse. The vet sighed and pulled up the security footage from outside. On the screen, Faye stood in oversized sunglasses, gripping a golf club. Behind her, a bodyguard dragged Snowball out of her carrier. Faye didn't hesitate. She swung the club down hard, over and over. When Snowball finally stopped moving, Faye kicked her in disgust. "Stupid animal thought it could scratch me? Should've known its place." She turned to the bodyguard. "Toss it on the street. Don't let Stellan see this mess." I stared at the screen, my nails digging into my palms until I couldn't feel them anymore. I pulled out my phone and called the police. Half an hour later, officers escorted me to what used to be my home. The door swung open. Faye was curled up in Stellan's arms. When she saw the cops, she let out a shriek and hid behind him. "Stellan, I'm scared." Stellan stepped in front of her, his face dark with fury as he glared at me. "Ines, what the hell is wrong with you now?" "Bringing cops to my home? Are you trying to humiliate me?" I looked at him coldly. "Faye is under investigation for destruction of property and animal cruelty. I'm pressing charges." Stellan froze for a second, then laughed in disbelief. "Over that worthless cat?" "Ines, are you out of your mind? It's a cat. It's dead. I'll buy you ten more if you want." "Faye is pregnant. She can't handle this kind of stress. Get the hell out of my house. Now." I stared at the man in front of me. He felt like a stranger. "That cat was mine. My parents gave her to me." "What did she do to deserve being beaten to death?" Faye peeked out from behind Stellan, tears streaming down her face. "Ines, stop lying." "The cat went crazy and tried to claw my stomach. I was protecting the Thorne heirs. It was self-defense." "Do you really value an animal over the lives of our children?" Stellan's expression turned vicious. He lunged forward and raised his hand. The slap echoed through the room. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth, and my ears rang. Stellan pointed at me, shaking with rage. "Ines, how twisted are you?" "You can't have children, so you use a damn animal to try and kill mine?" "If anything happens to Faye's babies, you'll pay with your life." The officers immediately stepped forward and pulled Stellan back. "Mr. Thorne, calm down. You just assaulted someone in front of law enforcement. We can arrest you for that." Stellan didn't even flinch. He straightened his cuffs with a cold smirk. "Arrest me? The Police Commissioner answers my calls. I'm disciplining my wife. You think you can arrest me?" He turned back to me, his eyes full of warning. "Ines, I'm giving you one last chance." "Drop the charges. Get on your knees and apologize to Faye." "Or I'll make sure you never work in this city again." I wiped the blood from my mouth and looked at the two of them with complete calm. The rage had burned out, leaving only clarity. "Stellan, that slap just severed the last thread between us." "You want children?" "Then I hope you have a beautiful family together." I turned to the officers. "I've submitted the surveillance footage. I'm pressing charges." I walked out without looking back. Behind me, Stellan's voice exploded into the night. "Ines! Don't you dare walk out that door!" "If you leave, you're never coming back!"
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