Chapter 2

It was a DoorDash driver.

I opened the door and was handed a bag containing a box of condoms.

My phone buzzed immediately. It was Chloe.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Nora. I accidentally had the stuff Ethan and I need delivered to your penthouse."

Through the speaker, I heard Ethan's voice in the background:

"Chloe, come here. Let me see how bad the discharge is."

The call abruptly disconnected.

My fingernails dug so hard into my palms that they broke the skin.

From that Appalachian town to Paris, I truly believed Ethan and I would make it to the end.

And now, he was getting naked with another woman.

Numbly, I started packing my things into boxes, one by one.

My phone rang again.

It was Michael Grant, one of our most important clients.

He was furious, his voice tight with rage.

"Nora, I can't believe your firm leaked my design files! The knockoffs are already all over the internet. Retailers are receiving shipments of my unreleased collection as we speak!"

"You better brace yourself. This is far from over."

My mind buzzed. I immediately opened my browser.

X, TikTok, and several design industry outlets were blowing up with the same headline: [Prominent Designer Leaks Client's Original Files.]

My hands shook as I clicked through the articles.

Then, I forced myself to breathe. To get cold.

This company was my blood, sweat, and tears. I wasn't going to sit back and watch it burn.

I contacted our IT department and had them pull the security footage and server logs.

The evidence was undeniable: the footage showed Chloe secretly photographing the design files and leaking them.

The company's legal counsel asked me how I wanted to proceed.

I took a deep breath. "Call the police. Preserve the server logs. We're filing a lawsuit for theft of trade secrets."

At the police precinct, Chloe looked at me with red, swollen eyes.

"Nora, please let me off the hook. I'm begging you, stop bullying me at work!"

I sidestepped her and handed the compiled evidence to the officer.

"The facts are all here. We're requesting a full criminal investigation into this corporate espionage and copyright infringement."

Chloe suddenly burst into loud, hysterical sobs.

Ethan strode into the precinct, slamming his controlling shareholder documents onto the desk.

"I'm the majority shareholder. The company is refusing to press charges, and we're withholding the evidence."

He glared at the officer. "Whatever you've collected, we are no longer pursuing this."

I stared straight at him. "Ethan, do you have any idea how much damage this will do to the company?"

He looked down at me, his voice clipped and hard.

"Chloe is still young. Don't throw her to the wolves over a mistake."

Chloe immediately threw herself into his arms, sobbing into his chest.

I felt like I had plunged through the ice into freezing water.

I had forgotten. The majority equity and the final say in the company had never truly been in my hands.

Just like Ethan. He had never truly belonged to me either.