I pushed the pen closer.
“And now you’re surprised I’m fighting back.”
He didn’t take it.
“All right.”
I stood.
“You have twenty-four hours.”
His eyes followed me.
“Tomorrow at this time, either I receive the signed agreement or Desmond begins filing.”
I walked out.
Estelle stood near the stairs holding a teacup.
She had obviously heard everything.
She looked terrified.
“Estelle.”
She lowered her eyes.
“Stay out of this.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I returned to my bedroom.
Locked the door.
Then my legs began trembling.
I slid down onto the floor.
Inside Aleric’s office, I had looked completely calm.
In reality, I was terrified.
He had money.
Influence.
Attorneys.
A family name that opened doors.
I had a lawyer, evidence, a pregnancy, and whatever remained of my courage.
But something had changed.
The woman I was pretending to be was slowly becoming real.
Later, I opened the camera feed.
Aleric sat behind his desk staring at the settlement.
For several minutes, he didn’t move.
Then suddenly he swept his arm across the desk.
Documents, ledgers, and a lamp crashed onto the floor.
He shouted something I couldn’t understand.
I closed the feed.
The next morning, at seven, someone knocked on my door.
Aleric stood outside.
His shirt was wrinkled.
His collar open.
His face looked exhausted.
The signed agreement was in his hand.
“I signed.”
I took it.
Then he added,
“But three million is impossible.”
I looked up.
“You managed to send one and a half million to Rowan.”
“That happened over several years.”
“Three million.”
“Two.”
“No.”
“I’ll wire two million immediately, and you leave today.”
“Three.”
He stared at me.
Then I mentioned another structure Gideon’s investigation had uncovered.
A Zurich account connected to questionable consulting payments.
Aleric’s face turned white.
“How do you know about Zurich?”
“Your secrets aren’t secrets anymore.”
I sat at my vanity.
“The amount remains three million.”
For nearly a minute, he stood silently.
Then something unexpected happened.
His posture changed.
The arrogance vanished.
“Saraphina.”
I looked at him in the mirror.
“Did it really have to come to this?”
“Yes.”
“I made mistakes.”
I turned around.
“Mistakes?”
“Rowan.”
He swallowed.
“The pills.”
Then:
“Julian.”
My expression didn’t change.
“I regret everything.”
“You regret losing control.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You are the only woman who ever truly stood beside me.”
I almost laughed.
“We can fix this.”
“No.”
“Listen to me.”
He reached toward my hand.
“We’ll raise this baby together.”
I pulled away.
“We can become a real family.”
“We already had five years to become one.”
“I’ll end things with Rowan.”
I stared at him.
“I’ll send her back to Bermuda permanently.”
His voice became desperate.
“Julian can stay with her.”
That stopped me.
“You’ll abandon Julian?”
His mouth tightened.
“Saraphina—”
“The son you called your heir?”
No answer.
“The child you’ve been carrying around this house for months?”
He looked away.
“You’re willing to abandon him because your finances are threatened.”
“It isn’t that simple.”
“It’s exactly that simple.”
I shook my head.
“And you expect me to trust you with my baby?”
He looked broken.
“Please.”
“No.”
I placed the agreement in front of him.
“Initial the financial clause.”
For several minutes, he resisted.
Then finally he took the pen.
His hand shook as he initialed beside the three-million-dollar provision.
He dropped the pen afterward.
His face hardened.
“You’re going to regret this.”
“Maybe.”
I gathered the documents.
“But my greatest regret is that I didn’t leave five years ago.”
I walked downstairs.
Eleanor was sitting in the living room with Julian.
Estelle was preparing tea.
The moment Eleanor saw the papers, her expression changed.
“What is that?”
“The divorce settlement.”
She stood quickly.
“What?”
“Your son signed.”
Her face twisted.
“You are not taking Sterling money.”
“I am taking the settlement Aleric agreed to pay.”
“You miserable parasite.”
I secured the papers inside my bag.
“You’ll get nothing.”
“I’m not asking for your empire.”
“You’re stealing three million dollars.”
“I’m leaving Sterling Holdings untouched.”
I looked at Julian.
“Think of it as the price of getting exactly what you wanted.”
Eleanor moved toward me.
“Give me those documents.”
“No.”
“They are family property.”
“They’re my divorce papers.”
I turned toward the doors.
“Saraphina.”
Aleric’s voice came from above.
I looked back.
He stood on the landing gripping the railing.
His face was gray.
“Are you really leaving?”
“Yes.”
He stared at me.
I looked at him one final time.
“I hope you and Rowan get exactly the life you wanted.”
Then I opened the doors.
Behind me, Eleanor began shouting.
Julian started crying.
Estelle tried to calm everyone.
Aleric said nothing.
I walked out without looking back.
Desmond’s car waited near the gates.
I climbed inside and clutched my bag against my chest.
He drove away from Greenwich before asking any questions.
“Where to?”
“A hotel tonight.”
“And tomorrow?”
“I’ll find an apartment.”
I watched the estate disappear behind us.
“And then I’m finding a job.”
Desmond glanced toward me.
“How much money do you actually have available right now?”
I checked my wallet.
Very little that Aleric couldn’t immediately restrict.
Desmond opened the glove compartment and handed me a thick envelope.
