Claire, who had just come in behind them, turned pale.

Ryan whispered, “You wouldn’t.”

I looked straight at him. “You slapped me before breakfast. Don’t pretend you know what I would do after lunch.”

His phone began ringing. Then Malcolm’s. Then Claire’s.

Beyond the glass walls, assistants started rushing from office to office.

Naomi pushed one document across the table. “Mrs. Vale is filing for annulment and civil protection. The prenuptial agreement’s asset shield is void due to spousal violence witnessed in the marital home.”

Victoria appeared in the doorway, her pearls shaking at her throat.

For the first time since I had known her, she had no insult prepared.

PART 3

At 10:00 a.m., my thumb rested over the send button.

Ryan watched me from across the conference table, his handsome face now stripped of all charm. Without the soft glow of wedding lights, without champagne smiles, without the tailored tuxedo, he looked exactly like what he truly was: a terrified man who had confused cruelty with authority.