Chapter 4

"You think being an efficient housewife makes you irreplaceable?" Sienna hissed, stepping directly into my personal space.

Her voice dripped with venom.

"Gavin told me everything," she continued, her lips twisting into a mocking smile. "You're rigid. You're obsessed with control. You turned your marriage into an endless checklist until he had to come to me just to breathe."

I didn't answer. I didn't step back.

Behind her, heavy footsteps broke the tension.

Director Harrison rushed down the hall, accompanied by two campus security guards. His face was gray with exhaustion and fury.

"Sienna," Harrison said, his voice flat and dangerous. "Give me your facility keycard and the tablet. Now."

Sienna whipped around, panic flashing across her eyes. "Director, please. It was an accident -- "

"A private message from a corporate sponsor popped up during a public youth fundraiser," Harrison cut in coldly. "Hand them over. You are on immediate administrative review."

Sienna bit her lip until it bled, but she surrendered the badge and the tablet.

Yet, corporate reality never offers pure justice.

Harrison pulled me aside, putting on that tired, corporate smile administrators use to sweep trash under the rug.

"Nora, we take this seriously," Harrison whispered.

"Effective right now, she is placed under strict conflict-of-interest restrictions regarding your family. She is officially barred from touching Mason's records, and she is banned from acting as his facility handler or signing him out in any official capacity."

He paused, offering a helpless shrug.

"But regional hockey playoffs start next week. Until the board finishes the formal review, she is still covering the league's back-office scheduling from behind a desk."

The center could restrict her official badge, but they couldn't control who Gavin invited into his life. On paper, she was cut off from my son; in reality, her fingers were still typing the notifications sent to my phone.

"I want that restriction formally logged on the parent portal tonight," I said evenly. "Every single notice concerning Mason must pass through secondary administrative approval. She does not contact my home."

Harrison nodded stiffly. "We will process the dual-approval protocol first thing in the morning."

I didn't argue. I didn't waste my breath on promises they weren't prepared to grant tonight.

I turned on my heel and walked into the children's lounge. Mason was sitting at a low table, carefully coloring a blue ice rink. When he saw me, his face lit up.

"Mom! Did Dad make it to the dinner?"

My heart squeezed, but my voice remained light and warm. "He had to work late, sweetie. Let's get your jacket. It's time to sleep."

I drove home through the quiet suburbs, listening to the soft sound of my son's steady breathing in the back seat.

Once Mason was tucked beneath his blankets, safe and asleep, I walked down to the front entryway.

I took out my phone, opened the digital lock app, and permanently erased Gavin's fingerprint profile and passcode. Then I changed the garage transmitter code.

Next, I went to the master closet. I dragged out his two leather suitcases, filled them with his suits, and shoved them out onto the cold concrete porch.

I locked the deadbolt. I slid the heavy security chain into place.

At exactly two-fifteen in the morning, the heavy wooden door rattled under a violent, furious blow.