Chapter 3

Series 1 Chapter 3

Three days after the fire, I was still trapped in a hospital bed, fighting to stabilize my pregnancy.

Meanwhile, Talia was busy stealing my life.

My phone blew up with notifications from the restaurant’s official social media pages. Talia had posted a highly edited photo of herself sitting in a wheelchair, looking delicate and tragically beautiful, with Derek holding her hand.

The caption made my stomach turn:

"Surviving the smoke. When the kitchen caught fire, Derek and I stayed behind to make sure our team was safe. We lost the building, but we have each other. Thank you to my incredible partner for carrying me out of the flames."

She painted herself as a fearless hero.

The truth?

She was the one who forced the staff to use broken equipment for a photoshoot.

She walked on her own two feet while I was crushed beneath a burning cabinet, bleeding and begging for my husband’s help.

Worse, some of the newer staff actually believed her posts. They whispered in the employee group chats that I was just an overly emotional, jealous wife trying to shift the blame to a "traumatized" manager.

Derek didn't stop there. He announced that the restaurant would reopen in just one week.

He launched a massive promotional campaign across the internet under a bold, rewritten banner:

Derek and Talia: Rising from the Fire

My name, my capital, and the fact that I had nearly lost my child in those flames were completely erased.

That afternoon, Derek called me. He didn't ask how my shattered leg was healing.

"The grand reopening is Friday at six," Derek commanded. "You need to show up, smile, and publicly clear Talia of all blame. Tell the press it was a freak accident. And bring the signed share transfer documents."

"And if I refuse?" I asked, my voice deadly quiet.

"Don't be a bitch, Maren," he answered coldly. "You will not destroy my dream just because you're throwing a tantrum. Play your part."

He still believed he held all the cards. He still believed I was the weak, compliant wife who would buy his love with my money.

The moment the doctor finally discharged me, my sister Paige did not drive me back to the house I shared with Derek.

She drove me straight to Helen Shaw’s law office downtown.

Helen reviewed the corporate records twice before looking up at me.

"The building is still entirely yours," she said. "So is the company."

"And the share transfer?"

"Derek never signed it because you planned to complete it on your anniversary. Legally, he owns nothing."

For the first time since the fire, I felt as if I could breathe.

Derek had left me beneath a burning cabinet because he believed I would still hand him half of my life the next morning.

He had no idea that the gift had died in that fire with my marriage.

Helen placed several documents in front of me.

"If you sign these," she said carefully, "there will be no taking them back once they go into effect."

I thought of Derek wiping soot from Talia’s face while I was carried into an ambulance.

Then I picked up the pen.

"Good."

I signed the first page.

Then the second.

Helen turned each completed document facedown before placing the next one in front of me.

By the time I finished, the stack was thick enough to fill a manila folder.

"When do you want everything activated?" she asked.

I looked at the reopening invitation Derek had sent me.

Friday. Six o’clock.

The exact moment he planned to announce Talia as co-founder using shares that had never belonged to him.

"Six o’clock Friday," I said.

Helen sealed the documents inside the folder.

"Derek will receive the official notices as soon as they take effect."

"No," I said. "Let him find out in person."

That evening, Derek sent me the final itinerary for the event.

The last two lines read:

6:10 PM: Maren hands over the 49% share transfer documents.

6:15 PM: Official announcement of Talia as Co-Founder.

Below the schedule was another message:

Do not be late. Put on some makeup so you do not look miserable, and do not embarrass Talia. Bring the folder.

I looked at the sealed manila folder on my sister’s table.

Derek believed it contained the papers that would make him an owner.

He had no idea what I had signed instead.

I picked up my phone and sent him a single reply.

I will be there.

Chapter 3

Series 1 Chapter 3

Three days after the fire, I was still trapped in a hospital bed, fighting to stabilize my pregnancy.

Meanwhile, Talia was busy stealing my life.

The caption made my stomach turn:

She painted herself as a fearless hero.

The truth?

She was the one who forced the staff to use broken equipment for a photoshoot.

She walked on her own two feet while I was crushed beneath a burning cabinet, bleeding and begging for my husband’s help.

Derek didn't stop there. He announced that the restaurant would reopen in just one week.

He launched a massive promotional campaign across the internet under a bold, rewritten banner:

Derek and Talia: Rising from the Fire

My name, my capital, and the fact that I had nearly lost my child in those flames were completely erased.

That afternoon, Derek called me. He didn't ask how my shattered leg was healing.

"And if I refuse?" I asked, my voice deadly quiet.

"Don't be a bitch, Maren," he answered coldly. "You will not destroy my dream just because you're throwing a tantrum. Play your part."

He still believed he held all the cards. He still believed I was the weak, compliant wife who would buy his love with my money.

The moment the doctor finally discharged me, my sister Paige did not drive me back to the house I shared with Derek.

She drove me straight to Helen Shaw’s law office downtown.

Helen reviewed the corporate records twice before looking up at me.

"The building is still entirely yours," she said. "So is the company."

"And the share transfer?"

"Derek never signed it because you planned to complete it on your anniversary. Legally, he owns nothing."

For the first time since the fire, I felt as if I could breathe.

Derek had left me beneath a burning cabinet because he believed I would still hand him half of my life the next morning.

He had no idea that the gift had died in that fire with my marriage.

Helen placed several documents in front of me.

"If you sign these," she said carefully, "there will be no taking them back once they go into effect."

I thought of Derek wiping soot from Talia’s face while I was carried into an ambulance.

Then I picked up the pen.

"Good."

I signed the first page.

Then the second.

Helen turned each completed document facedown before placing the next one in front of me.

By the time I finished, the stack was thick enough to fill a manila folder.

"When do you want everything activated?" she asked.

I looked at the reopening invitation Derek had sent me.

Friday. Six o’clock.

The exact moment he planned to announce Talia as co-founder using shares that had never belonged to him.

"Six o’clock Friday," I said.

Helen sealed the documents inside the folder.

"Derek will receive the official notices as soon as they take effect."

"No," I said. "Let him find out in person."

That evening, Derek sent me the final itinerary for the event.

The last two lines read:

6:10 PM: Maren hands over the 49% share transfer documents.

6:15 PM: Official announcement of Talia as Co-Founder.

Below the schedule was another message:

Do not be late. Put on some makeup so you do not look miserable, and do not embarrass Talia. Bring the folder.

I looked at the sealed manila folder on my sister’s table.

Derek believed it contained the papers that would make him an owner.

He had no idea what I had signed instead.

I picked up my phone and sent him a single reply.

I will be there.