Chapter 4 - The First Strike
By 3:00 AM,
the house was quiet again.
Nathan had eventually given up,
retiring to the guest room to nurse his ego and his hangover.
I hadn't slept a wink.
I spent the hours in my study,
digitizing the ledger and sending encrypted copies to a secure server.
I also drafted a press release,
one that I didn't intend to send yet,
but kept as a loaded gun in my back pocket.
The title was simple:
Mara Pierce Announces Resignation from Pierce Group and Files for Divorce.
But it was the subtext that would kill them.
The mention of "irreconcilable differences regarding corporate ethics" would trigger every journalist in the city.
I looked at the ivory gift wrap,
now crumpled on the floor.
It looked like a shed skin.
I packed my final bag,
a small carry-on with the essentials.
The safe was empty.
The desk was clear.
I walked out of the study,
moving like a ghost through the silent house.
I didn't look at the photos of our wedding on the walls.
I didn't look at the expensive gifts from our anniversaries.
They were all hollow trophies now.
I reached the foyer and placed my keys on the marble console table.
Beside them,
I left a single note.
The ledger stays with me.
Don't try to find me.
I walked out into the cool night air,
the rain having turned into a soft mist.
My car was waiting in the driveway.
I drove out of the gates,
not looking back even once.
I headed to a small,
boutique hotel on the North Side,
checking in under my maiden name.
The clerk didn't recognize me without the Pierce diamonds and the designer heels.
I was just another woman in a trench coat,
looking for a bed.
I fell asleep for exactly three hours,
a deep,
dreamless slumber.
When I woke at 7:00 AM,
the world felt sharp and clear.
I checked my phone.
Two hundred missed calls.
A thousand text messages.
Emails from Nathan,
Eleanor,
and the Pierce Group legal department.
The panic had reached a fever pitch.
Eleanor had sent a message at 5:00 AM:
*Mara,
you are being hysterical.*
Return the ledger immediately or there will be consequences.
I smiled as I deleted the message.
The fact that she was worried about the ledger told me everything I needed to know.
She wasn't worried about her son's marriage.
She was worried about the foundation of her empire.
I dressed in a sharp,
navy blue suit,
the color of a storm at sea.
I tied my hair back in a tight bun,
leaving my face exposed and severe.
I grabbed the manila folder and the ledger.
May you like
It was 7:45 AM.
Elias Thorne was waiting.
