Chapter 97

No.1

The air inside the dark walnut study of the Chambers Long Island estate was thick with the scent of expensive cigars and old money.

Germaine Chambers sat perfectly straight in her high-backed leather chair. She placed the encrypted burner phone face down on the polished mahogany desk. The text message confirming the destruction of the divorce papers had just secured her empire.

A soft, hesitant knock echoed from the heavy oak door.

"Enter," Germaine commanded.

Brenda, the head housekeeper of the Manhattan penthouse, slipped into the room. She kept her eyes glued to the floor, her hands nervously wringing the fabric of her apron. She walked to the edge of the desk and stopped, trembling slightly.Germaine picked up her bone china teacup. She took a slow,elegant sip.

"You executed the swap perfectly, Brenda,"Germaine said, her voice smooth and chillingly calm. "The bonus has already been wired to your offshore account."

No.2

Brenda swallowed hard. Her mind flashed back to three days ago.

Flashback: Elisa had packed a single suitcase and walked out of the penthouse. Before leaving, Elisa had placed the real, legally sound divorce agreement into the master bedroom safe,instructing Brenda to hand the sealed envelope to Harvey Vance's courier when he arrived.

The second the elevator doors closed, Brenda had received the call. Following Germaine's explicit orders, Brenda used the emergency master override code. She opened the safe. She removed the real documents and slid them into a shredder.Then, she took the absurd, legally impossible fake contract-drafted by Germaine's personal fixer-and sealed it inside the Vance Law Firm envelope.When the courier arrived, Brenda simply handed over the tampered package.

End of flashback.

"Madam," Brenda whispered, her voice shaking."What... what if Mr. August finds out? What if he checks the security logs on the safe?"

Germaine let out a short, sharp scoff. She set the teacup down with a clink.

No.3

"My son is currently blinded by his own pathetic ego and that cheap Sinclair whore," Germaine sneered. "He will not check the logs. He needed an excuse to believe Elisa wasn't truly leaving him.That fake contract gave him the perfect narrative.He thinks she is extorting him. He will fight her,and that fight will buy me the time I need."

Brenda frowned, her confusion overriding her fear.

"But Madam... you despise Elisa. Why not just let them divorce and be rid of her?"

Germaine's eyes flashed with sudden, terrifying anger. She reached across the desk and grabbed a thick,leather-bound financial prospectus,slamming it down hard.

"Because next month is the Global Al Summit!"Germaine snapped, her voice cracking like a whip."The Chambers Group is finalizing a multi-billion dollar funding round for the Aethel joint venture. If the Wall Street short-sellers smell blood-if they see the CEO embroiled in a massive, messy divorce and a potential liquidation of marital assets-they will attack the stock like sharks. We would lose billions."

Germaine leaned back, her eyes narrowing into cold slits.

No.4

"The divorce will happen," Germaine stated. "But it will happen on my timeline. After the funding is secured. Until then, they remain legally married.I had already paid off the junior clerk at Vance's firm.He simply took the 'correct' envelope Brenda handed him without asking questions."

She paused, her fingers drumming a slow, rhythmic beat on the desk.

"Furthermore," Germaine murmured, almost to herself. "Elisa's recent behavior is highly irregular.A subservient nurse does not suddenly produce fifty million dollars in hush money. She does not suddenly possess the spine to defy me. She has

backing. And I will find out who it is."

Germaine pressed a silver intercom button on her desk. "Send him in."

The heavy oak doors opened. A man in a gray trench coat walked in. He had the cold,dead eyes of a reptile. He was the most expensive, ruthless private investigator in New York.

No.5

Germaine slid a thick manila folder across the desk."This is my daughter-in-law, Elisa Wilder,"Germaine ordered. "I want twenty-four-hour physical and digital surveillance. I want every bank

account, every phone call, and every associate tracked. I don't care where she goes-Long Island,Brooklyn, or the damn moon. Find out why a penniless nurse is making so many secretive trips out of the city."

The investigator picked up the folder. He gave a single, sharp nod. "If she has a secret, I will dig it up."He turned and walked out of the room.

Germaine stood up and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window. She looked out over the manicured lawns of the estate. Anyone who threatened the stability of the Chambers family would be crushed into dust.

Behind her, Brenda's phone suddenly vibrated.

Brenda pulled it out of her apron. She read the text message from Germaine's chief of staff. All the

No.6

blood drained from Brenda's face.

"Madam," Brenda stammered, her voice high and panicked. "I... I just received a priority alert. Elisa was at the Manhattan Private Hospital tonight."

"I know she was there," Germaine said without turning around. "August told me about the altercation."

"No,Madam," Brenda swallowed hard. "The report says Elisa didn't just come to fight. She brought a patient into the ER. A little girl. She was bleeding."

Germaine's entire body froze.

She slowly turned around. Her eyes locked onto Brenda with the terrifying intensity of a predator that had just smelled fresh blood.

No.7

"A little girl?" Germaine whispered.

The words hung in the air. Germaine's brilliant,paranoid mind instantly began connecting invisible dots. The secret trips out of the city. The sudden need for massive amounts of money. The desperate, fierce defiance.

"Find out exactly who that child is," Germaine commanded, her voice dropping to a lethal,vibrating hum. "Get me a name. Get me a face.Now."

A massive, invisible net had just been castinto the dark, and it was falling directly over Kayden.