Chapter 1

I was so unbothered that I never bothered to expose my husband, Gavin Wilkes, who'd kept another woman on the side for eighteen years.

To their credit, the pair were genuinely capable. They'd built my tiny workshop into a publicly listed company. But this year, they wanted to kick me out for ten million dollars.

At the IPO celebration party, Gavin slid divorce papers and an equity transfer agreement across the table to me.

Cora Rankin, the woman he had kept for eighteen years, wearing a custom gown as the company's chief operating officer, raised her glass.

She smiled and said, "Daisy, take the ten million and leave. You've coasted through most of your life. Don't hold the company back."

Seated in the audience were underwriters, institutional investors, all executives, and two tables of relatives.

If I didn't sign, the company would announce the internal drama tomorrow, and the stock price, my board seat, and whatever dignity I had left would all go down the drain.

Gavin lowered his voice and added, "Don't make me say in front of everyone what you've done all these years."

I stared at the pen.

Slowly, I opened my purse.

Inside was a kraft paper envelope that had been sealed for eighteen years.

*****

Three days earlier, Gavin had come home with a faint, lingering scent of women's perfume on his shirt collar.

I was sitting on the living room sofa, watching TV. The housekeeper had already left, and only a table lamp was on.

He tossed his keys onto the entryway table. The sound wasn't loud, but it felt deliberate, as if he wanted me to hear it.

"You have to be at the celebration party on Friday night," Gavin said.

I switched the channel. "I don't like social events."

"Doesn't matter if you like it or not."

He walked over to me, still wearing his coat, his eyes full of impatience.

"You're the original shareholder and the nominal chairman. You have to show up," he said.

I hit the mute button. "Didn't you say I didn't know anything about the business and would get in the way during the roadshow?"

Gavin let out a quiet laugh.

"Back then, you were smart enough to stay out of the way. Now, showing up is for appearances," he said.

He pulled a document out of his briefcase and set it on the coffee table.

The first page stated clearly in black and white: [Equity Transfer Letter of Intent.

[Transferee: Gavin Wilkes.

[Transfer price: ten million dollars in full.]

My hand froze on the remote.

Daisy Biologics had been founded eighteen years earlier with a registered capital of 300 thousand dollars. Of that amount, 200 thousand dollars had come from me, from selling the old house my mother had left me.

The "Daisy" in the company name was me.

I had indeed taken it easy all these years. I had no interest in going to the office, reading financial reports, or dining with distributors.

Gavin and Cora were eager to run the business, so I let them. I didn't deny their talent for turning a tiny basement workshop into a mainboard-listed company.

But talent didn't give them the right to erase my name from the picture.

"The company just went public," I said, staring at the document. "Are you seriously offering ten million dollars for my thirty-eight percent stake?"

Gavin set the pen down next to me.

"Daisy, that's not how it works," he said.

He said it so flatly, as if he were breaking down basic facts for some clueless distant cousin.

He continued, "You haven't been involved in the day-to-day business all these years. Cora and I made this happen.

"If you keep holding onto that big shareholder status, it'll make institutional investors doubt who's actually running the show."

I set the remote down. "So?"

"So you leave," Gavin said. "Ten million is a lot. You don't spend much anyway. It's enough to keep you comfortable for the rest of your life."

The refrigerator compressor kicked on with a low hum.

Out of nowhere, memories from eighteen years ago hit me.

Gavin had stood in that basement on the west side of the city, filling a disposable cup from the water cooler, and said to me, "Daisy, this company will be half mine and half yours."

Back then, there was no Cora, and Gavin wasn't wearing any of those tailored shirts.

People changed. That was nothing new.

What surprised me was that he thought no one had kept track of the old agreements.

I didn't touch the pen.

"Does Cora know about this agreement?" I asked.

Gavin's eyelid twitched, but he pulled himself together fast.

"This is a company matter. Don't bring personal matters into it," he said.

I smirked. "Is she a personal matter or a company-level one?"

Gavin drummed his fingers on the coffee table.

"Daisy, I don't want to make this messy. You've been looking the other way all these years, and we've all managed to get by. But now that the company's gone public, any drama will get blown up by the market," he said.

He pushed the papers even closer to me.

"If you don't sign, the IPO sponsors will start digging into your investment history, our joint assets, and your management rights. When that happens, it's anyone's guess who ends up embarrassed," he added.

The last line was the real point of Gavin's visit tonight.

He wasn't here to negotiate with me.

He was here to threaten me.