Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Bleeds
The next morning, the headlines were exactly what Dominic had tried to avoid.
Not about the baby. Not yet.
But about the money.
While Dominic and Celeste were supposedly enjoying their first morning as husband and wife, Simone had filed an emergency injunction in family court.
The filing requested a complete freeze on Dominic’s assets, citing “undisclosed financial liabilities and fraudulent marital asset reporting.”
By 9:00 AM, the injunction was granted.
By 10:00 AM, the news leaked to the business press.
By 11:00 AM, my phone started ringing.
I was sitting in my private hospital suite, dressed in a soft cashmere robe, feeding Maya.
I watched the TV mounted on the wall, muted.
The news ticker at the bottom of the screen read: VALE HOSPITALITY MERGER HALTED AMID FRAUD ALLEGATIONS BY EX-WIFE.
Dominic’s face was on the screen. He looked exhausted.
My phone vibrated again.
It was Dominic.
I let it ring.
It vibrated again.
It was Celeste’s father, Arthur Sterling.
I let it ring.
I was not the obedient wife anymore. I didn’t answer to their schedules.
At noon, Simone walked into my room carrying two cups of artisan coffee and a thick manila folder.
She looked radiant. Simone thrived on corporate blood, and today she was swimming in it.
“You look entirely too well-rested for a woman who just gave birth and destroyed a billion-dollar merger in the same twenty-four hours,” she said, handing me the coffee.
“Spite is an excellent vitamin,” I smiled, taking a sip.
Simone pulled up a chair and opened the folder.
“Here is the situation. Arthur Sterling is furious. He confronted Dominic this morning. Dominic tried to play it off as a ‘bitter ex-wife’ trying to extort him, but the asset freeze is legally binding. The merger is stalled until the court clears the financials.”
“Which they won’t,” I said.
“Exactly,” Simone nodded. “Because to clear the financials, Dominic would have to reveal the second set of books. If he does that, he goes to federal prison for fraud. If he doesn’t, he can’t complete the merger, and his company goes bankrupt within sixty days.”
Checkmate.
Dominic had built a house of cards, and he had stupidly handed me the wind.
“What about the baby?” I asked, looking down at Maya.
“That’s the cherry on top,” Simone grinned. “Since the divorce wasn’t fully finalized regarding asset division—because you refused to sign the final addendum he slipped in—and because he deliberately hid assets while you were pregnant, a judge is going to roast him alive. He will owe you unprecedented child support. And better yet, he cannot claim ignorance.”
“He tried to make me sign an NDA in the delivery room,” I reminded her.
“Which I have already added to the harassment filing,” she beamed.
Suddenly, there was a sharp knock at the door.
Before Simone could answer, the door swung open.
It wasn’t Dominic this time.
It was Celeste.
She was out of her wedding dress, wearing a simple beige trench coat and dark sunglasses.
She looked terrible.
Her face was pale, and she was shaking.
“Simone, call security,” I said immediately.
“Wait!” Celeste pleaded, raising her hands. “Please, Evelyn. Just give me five minutes. Please.”
I looked at her.
The arrogance was entirely gone. The woman who had told me to keep my dignity was now standing in my hospital room, begging for scraps of truth.
I nodded to Simone, who crossed her arms but stayed silent.
“You have three minutes, Celeste,” I said.
Celeste took off her sunglasses. Her eyes were swollen from crying.
“He’s broke, isn’t he?” she whispered.
I didn’t blink. “Yes.”
“My father’s audit team just found the discrepancies you flagged,” she continued, her voice cracking. “Dominic lied to us. He told my father his company was solvent. He told me you were just a gold-digger holding out for a better settlement.”
She looked at the bassinet where Maya was sleeping.
“He told me there was no baby.”
“And you believed him,” I said coldly. “Because it was convenient for you.”
Celeste swallowed hard.
“I left him,” she said.
Simone raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been married for less than twenty-four hours.”
“I left him,” Celeste repeated, looking directly at me. “My father is pulling out of the merger. He is preparing to sue Dominic for breach of contract and fraud. It’s over. Dominic is going to lose everything.”
She stood there, waiting for me to say something. Waiting for forgiveness.
But I didn’t have any to give.
“Close the door on your way out, Celeste,” I said softly.
She nodded once, tears spilling over her lashes, and walked out.
Simone looked at me and let out a low whistle.
“Well,” she said. “That escalated quickly.”
May you like
I looked out the hospital window at the city skyline.
“We’re just getting started.”
