Chapter 3

I drove straight to Leo's preschool and parked on the opposite side of the street.

Ten minutes later, Julian's black sedan pulled up to the curb.

Hailey got out of the passenger side carrying a big Spider-Man box.

My four-year-old son came running out the glass doors, squealing as she handed it to him.

"Look what I got you!" Hailey cooed, kneeling in the dirt in her expensive jeans to hug him.

"Do you want to come over to my house after this?"

Leo nodded hard, kissing her cheek before ripping at the plastic wrapper.

Julian stood near the trunk.

He looked across the street, his eyes finding my windshield through the glare.

He didn't look angry anymore—he looked defensive.

He pulled Hailey closer by the waist, kissed her temple, and kept his eyes fixed on my car the entire time.

I kept both hands flat on the steering wheel.

I didn't honk. I didn't get out.

I just shifted into drive and pulled out into the afternoon traffic.

By 8:00 PM, I was sitting in our living room with one suitcase by the front door.

Julian came in a few minutes later, throwing his keys into the porcelain bowl on the console table.

He looked tired. He unbuttoned his collar and walked toward the bar cart to pour himself a scotch.

"Look," he said, not looking at me as the ice clinked in his glass.

"Hailey is young and she panicked today. It's not what you think. We've built too much together to throw it away over this. We have the investor gala next Tuesday. I need you to handle the bonus envelopes like you always do."

I stood up, leaving my bag by the couch.

"I'm staying at a hotel tonight," I said.

He paused with the glass halfway to his mouth, his jaw tightening.

"Don't do this, Sienna. Don't be petty. Who's going to prep the books for the audit team on Monday if you walk out?"

His phone started ringing on the counter.

The screen lit up with his CFO Marcus's name.

Julian groaned and picked it up. "Yeah, Marcus? I'm busy."

"Julian, where are you?!" Marcus's voice blared through the speaker, frantic and breathless.

"The third-party auditors just served us with an emergency hold! They're pulling every single account ledger from the last twenty-four months!"

Julian froze, the glass in his hand going completely still.

"What? On whose authority? I didn't sign off on that!"

"The lead shareholder did!" Marcus practically yelled.

"The request came directly from her private legal team twenty minutes ago!"

Julian turned around slowly, his eyes locking onto me.

The color drained from his face so fast he looked sick.

His fingers twitched around his glass, spilling a drop of scotch onto his shoe.

"Sienna..." he rasped, his voice barely a whisper.

I picked up my bag.

"The lead shareholder isn't using Winston Group's lawyers, Julian," I said as I reached the front door.

"She's using Sarah's firm, which represented my private portfolio long before I ever let you put your name on my work."

He stood there by the bar cart, his mouth slightly open, unable to move a muscle.

I stepped out onto the porch, pulled the door shut behind me, and walked down the steps into the quiet evening air.