Chapter 4
The forty-eight-hour deadline Adrian had given me to sign the divorce papers arrived on Thursday morning.
The weather outside had turned miserable, a grey sheet of driving rain lashing against the thick glass of my hospital suite.
I was sitting up in bed, my hair washed and brushed by a private nurse I had hired to replace the hospital staff.
I wore a silk wrap over my hospital gown, refusing to look like a victim when the inevitable confrontation occurred.
Right on schedule, the door flew open without a knock, revealing Adrian in a tailored navy trench coat, looking damp and irritated.
Cassandra was not with him this time, likely busy occupying her new executive office at the headquarters.
"You haven't sent the signed documents to my legal team, Elena," he snapped, walking to the foot of my bed and gripping the metal railing.
"I told you forty-eight hours, and I meant it."
"I don't have time to play games with you while I'm navigating a critical corporate expansion."
I looked at him, noticing the subtle twitch beneath his left eye, a sure sign that the delay from Vanguard Group was already causing him stress.
"The doctors say my leg requires another surgery, Adrian," I said, keeping my voice soft, vulnerable, perfectly mimicking a woman on the brink of despair.
"The medical bills are going to be astronomical, and the settlement you offered wouldn't even cover the long-term physical therapy."
He scoffed, throwing his head back in a display of disgusted impatience that made my stomach turn.
"Your health insurance will cover the basic costs, and frankly, your lifestyle choices are no longer my financial responsibility."
"You are trying to drag this out because you think I'll feel guilty and give you a larger piece of the company."
"Let me be entirely clear: you will get exactly what is in that folder, or I will tie you up in court until you are completely bankrupt."
"I have the best corporate litigators in the city on my payroll, paid for by the very company I built while you were playing housewife."
I looked down at my hands, pretending to hide a tremble that was actually pure excitement.
"You built it?" I asked softly, keeping my eyes cast downward. "I thought we built it together, Adrian."
"Don't be ridiculous," he hissed, leaning over the bed, his expensive cologne mixing with the smell of antiseptic. "You held charity galas and smiled for local newspapers."
"I made the decisions, I took the risks, and I am the face of Vale International."
May you like
"Sign the papers today, or I will instruct my lawyers to file for a contested divorce on grounds of mental incapacity due to your trauma."
"I will strip you of everything, Elena, and leave you with nothing but that wheelchair."
