Chapter 3

Olivia got there fast, out of breath and furious.

She stormed into the hotel room and wrapped me in a fierce hug.

"Emily, you didn't deserve any of this," she said.

I shook my head, giving her back a reassuring pat. "I'm okay. This isn't the moment for tears."

Olivia let go, scanning my face with worry written all over hers.

"That's you. The sky could fall and you'd carry it alone," she said.

She tugged me onto the couch, her face turning all business.

She said, "Tell me what you're going to do."

I opened the video on my phone and handed it to her.

On screen, Michael was kneeling, pathetically polishing another woman's shoes.

His voice was crystal clear. "I've already taken care of all the divorce paperwork behind her back."

Olivia's expression got icier by the second. When she finished, she slammed the phone down hard.

"Piece of trash! Faking divorce papers? That's straight-up illegal."

I stayed calm. "He's stringing her along with an empty promise. He's too careful to actually forge anything, because the risk is too high.

"He just wants to keep her happy while milking everything I've given him.

"When he decides the timing is right, he'll use every dirty trick he has to push me out with nothing, and then he'll bring her in as Mrs. Grant."

Olivia gritted her teeth. "He had it all worked out."

"So what do we do now? Do we put the video in front of him and call him out?"

I shook my head.

"No way. That's way too easy for him."

"He thinks he has the whole world in his hands. I'd rather pull him down from that height and watch him break apart."

My voice was steady, but even Olivia could feel the chill in it.

"The house is sold and the money is in. It was mine before the marriage, and he won't get one dollar of it.

"Next, I'm taking back everything I ever handed him."

Olivia's eyes lit up. "You mean what I think you mean."

"Exactly." I nodded. "His job, his contacts, his shiny reputation. Not one of those exists without me and without the Carter family name.

"I'm going to strip him down to nothing and send him back to where he started."

Olivia slapped her thigh and grinned. "That's exactly how you do it."

She was a top lawyer for a reason, and she started mapping out the plan right there.

"First, the assets. We lock all of it down today.

"How much joint property do you have? Savings, stocks, funds?"

I thought about it. "We've always kept our finances separate, but I gave him a supplementary card on my account with a high limit to show that I trusted him. Household costs and his personal spending all run through it.

"There's also a joint account with about 770 thousand dollars in it, mostly his salary and bonuses from the past few years."

Olivia cut in, "Cancel the supplementary card right now.

"The joint account is legally split down the middle, but we have options. Go to the bank, pull out everything he could reach, and freeze the rest.

"He says the two of you are already divorced, so let's give him what he asked for and let him find out early what broke feels like."

I nodded. "Got it. I'll take care of it first thing tomorrow."

Olivia went on, "Next, his career.

"He only landed that VP spot at Prime Holdings because your dad personally called the CEO, plus the Carter family's company signed several fat contracts with Prime Holdings.

"This is the real game-changer."

My eyes turned cold.

That was what Michael cared about more than anything.

He always acted as though he had built it himself, and both of us knew that without the Carter family behind him he was nothing.

"Olivia, I need you on this," I said.

Olivia squeezed my hand, her gaze rock-solid.

"Emily, your fight is my fight. Just tell me what to do."

I leaned in and told her the plan in a low voice.

Olivia's eyes lit up with excitement as she listened.

She said, "That's brilliant. Michael is arrogant enough that he'll never see it coming.

"He thinks you're a lovesick pushover, and he has no idea how dangerous you are when you're serious."

I looked out at the city lights, sparkling like a river of stars.

Once, I thought one of those lights was shining just for me.

Now I understood that the only light worth counting on was the one I made myself.

The game started.

I was going to make him watch while he lost, piece by piece, everything he had ever bragged about.