Chapter 3
"Mr. Grant, please have a seat," Claire said.
Michael and Frank were also in the living room.
Claire slid all the documents she'd prepared the night before, including the crucial shareholding agreement, across the table to Richard.
"These are all the documents related to my and Edward's joint assets, as well as the company's records," she said.
"My demands are simple. First, I want full custody of my daughter. Second, I want him to leave with nothing," she added.
Richard adjusted his glasses and began carefully reviewing the documents.
He worked swiftly, his gaze piercing, missing nothing as he scanned each page.
After a moment, he looked up, meeting Claire's eyes.
He said, "Ms. Summers, from a legal standpoint, your demands are feasible.
"This shareholding agreement is the linchpin of your case. As long as we can show it's valid, Edward won't have any claim to the company's shares.
"As for the rest of the joint assets, since he's clearly at fault in the marriage, the court will lean in your favor when it comes to splitting things up.
"When it comes to custody, since your baby is still nursing, the court almost always sides with the mother."
Frank and Michael both let out a sigh of relief.
"That's a relief. Mr. Grant, we're putting this in your hands. Money is no object," Frank said, his voice steady.
Richard nodded, but his gaze never left Claire.
He asked, "But, Ms. Summers, are you sure you want to go this far?
"If you make him walk away with nothing, he'll lose everything. For a man who once had it all, that's a fate worse than death.
"He might do something crazy."
Claire met his gaze without flinching.
"I am," she replied firmly.
Then she added, "When he kissed another woman at Sophie's first-month celebration, he should've known there would be consequences.
"I gave him a chance. He was the one who threw it away.
"I not only want him to walk away with nothing, but I also want him to pay for what he's done."
A flash of approval appeared in Richard's eyes.
He'd seen plenty of women fall apart crying, unable to make up their minds when their marriages hit the rocks.
But Claire pulled herself together in record time, becoming merciless and fixed on her goal. That kind of resolve was rare.
This woman was a force to be reckoned with.
"Alright," Richard said, snapping the file shut. "Got it. I'll assemble a legal team immediately and kick off the lawsuit. First step, I'll file with the court to freeze every bank account and asset Edward owns."
"We need to act fast," Michael jumped in. "Edward is the kind of guy who'll pull something crazy if he's backed into a corner. I'm worried he'll try to move his money before we can lock it down."
"Relax," Richard replied, adjusting his glasses. "Here in Rivergate, if I decide to freeze someone's assets, they won't even have time to blink, let alone transfer anything."
That kind of confidence put the entire Summers family at ease.
After Richard left, Claire felt wiped out, as all her energy had vanished.
She slumped back on the couch, her face pale.
Lily came over with a meal, concern shining in her eyes.
"Claire, have something to eat. You're still recovering from childbirth. You can't keep pushing yourself like this," she said softly.
"Lily, I can't eat," Claire murmured.
"You have to eat, whether you want to or not. If not for yourself, then for Sophie. She still needs you to feed her," Lily pressed, worry etched in her voice.
At the mention of Sophie, a faint light flickered in Claire's eyes.
She took the meal and began eating.
Meanwhile, Edward was scrambling, overwhelmed by the mess he'd landed in.
The scandal from Sophie's celebration had set the internet on fire overnight. Everyone was talking about it, and the drama kept snowballing.
The company's stock price tanked. Within the first hour of trading, shares were frozen at rock bottom.
The board's old members kept calling, one after another, chewing him out and hurling accusations.
Now the company's partners were blowing up his phone as well, all of them pulling out of their deals.
Edward's office looked like a war zone.
He'd smashed everything he could get his hands on.
"Useless! Every last one of you is useless. What do I pay the PR department for? You can't even put a lid on a mess this small," he roared into the phone at the PR director.
Meanwhile, Melissa, the one who'd started all this, was sprawled out on the couch across from him, lazily painting her nails as if she didn't have a care in the world.
"Mr. Shaw, why are you freaking out? It's already happened. What matters now is how you clean up the mess," Melissa said.
Edward slammed the receiver down, his eyes blazing red as he glared at her.
He snapped, "Clean it up? How am I supposed to fix this? This mess is all thanks to you.
"If you hadn't gone off the rails yesterday, we wouldn't be in this disaster."
Melissa put down her nail polish and looked up, not the least bit scared. If anything, she smirked at him.
She shot back, "Seriously, you're blaming me for all this? You think that's going to help?
"Who was the one clinging to me yesterday, huh? Who said he loved me and was sick of Claire, that boring old wife of his?"
"I..." Edward mumbled, speechless.
He'd said all that.
Fueled by booze and desire, he'd exploded, dumping all the bitterness he'd been holding in about Claire.
He hated her family's status. It always made him feel like the son-in-law who had married into their house instead of building his own.
He hated how capable Claire was, always stuck in her shadow at work.
He resented how her body had gone out of shape after having the baby, and how haggard she looked.
But Melissa was young, gorgeous, and she was into him. She stroked his ego in every way a man could want.
He thought he could have it all by keeping his wife at home and fooling around with Melissa on the side.
He never imagined Melissa would be bold enough to pull something like that at the celebration.
And he didn't expect Claire to be so ruthless in her response.
"What's the point in talking about it now?" Edward muttered, yanking at his hair in frustration. "Claire is divorcing me."
"Let her," Melissa said with a careless shrug. "It's perfect. You can marry me, and together we'll snatch the company right out from under her. Without you, what's she going to do?"
Edward looked at Melissa's smug face, but a chill ran down his spine.
He knew better than anyone that Claire was a force to be reckoned with.
Most of the company's rapid growth over the years was thanks to her.
Edward felt a sudden pang of regret.
Maybe he shouldn't have burned every bridge like this.
Just then, his phone rang.
When he saw the caller ID, a chill ran down his spine.
It was his bank manager.
"David King," Edward answered, his voice shaky.
"Mr. Shaw, something's gone wrong. Every single one of your bank accounts has been frozen by the court," David blurted out.
Edward was stunned, unable to process what he'd heard.
His phone slipped from his hand and hit the ground hard.
All the color drained from his face in an instant.
How could this happen? Edward's mind spun in disbelief.
Claire went straight for the jugular, fast and ruthless.
The news that his accounts had been frozen hit him like a bucket of ice water, leaving him numb from head to toe.
All that cash he'd been so proud of, the money he was counting on to make a comeback, was now out of reach and locked up tight.
Now he was a penniless CEO with nothing but his job title.
"How could this happen? How?" Edward whispered.
He collapsed into his chair, looking like he'd seen a ghost, mumbling the same words over and over.
Melissa started to freak out, too.
She'd slept with Edward for his money and status, nothing else.
If he turned into a broke nobody, what was the point of all this?