Chapter 1 - The Water Was Ice Cold
The first bucket hit Cassidy Hale across the shoulders before she had time to turn around.
Freezing water soaked through her cream maternity dress and ran down her back.
A sour smell followed it.
Dirty mop water.
Coffee grounds.
Soap residue.
Something rotten.
Cassidy stood frozen on the marble driveway of the Mercer estate with one hand beneath her eight-month pregnant belly.
Behind her, laughter broke the silence.
Brendan Mercer leaned against his silver sports car with his arms crossed.
His new girlfriend, Vanessa Cole, covered her mouth as if she were trying not to laugh.
She failed.
At the top of the steps stood Brendan’s mother, Evelyn Mercer, holding the empty metal bucket.
Evelyn smiled.
“Consider that your final reminder that you don’t belong here anymore.”
Cassidy slowly turned.
Water dripped from the ends of her dark hair.
She had come only because Brendan had demanded her signature on what he called a routine insurance document involving their unborn daughter.
Cassidy had refused to sign without reading it.
That had apparently been enough to provoke Evelyn.
Brendan shook his head.
“You always have to make everything difficult.”
Cassidy looked at the man she had once loved.
“You asked me to come here.”
“And you came dressed like you were attending a board meeting.”
Vanessa laughed.
“That dress probably came from a discount rack.”
Evelyn walked down one step.
“You should be grateful Brendan supported you as long as he did.”
Cassidy said nothing.
They believed she had been dependent on Brendan.
They believed the small apartment she had moved into after the divorce represented the full extent of her finances.
They believed the old sedan she drove meant she was nearly broke.
Most importantly, they believed Cassidy had no power.
Brendan pointed toward the papers lying on a table beside the entrance.
“Sign them and leave.”
Cassidy looked toward the document.
Something in the upper corner caught her attention.
A logo.
Three interlocking silver lines.
Her stomach tightened.
It belonged to Alder Crown Holdings.
Her company.
Not Brendan’s.
Not Evelyn’s.
Hers.
Cassidy stepped closer.
Evelyn blocked her.
“You’re dripping on imported marble.”
Cassidy’s eyes remained on the document.
She recognized the reference number beneath the logo.
It belonged to the Hale Family Continuity Trust.
That trust had never been disclosed to Brendan.
Very few people even knew it existed.
Cassidy lifted her gaze.
“Where did you get that document?”
Brendan smirked.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
“God, she’s exhausting.”
Cassidy reached into her wet handbag.
Brendan laughed again.
“What are you doing?”
Cassidy took out her phone.
The screen was wet, but it still responded.
She opened a secure application that Brendan had never seen.
Her thumb hovered over one command.
For nearly six years, she had avoided using it.
Protocol 7 existed for one reason.
An internal threat involving ownership, family trusts, or executive-level fraud.
Cassidy typed three words.
“Activate Protocol 7.”
She pressed send.
Evelyn snorted.
“Is that supposed to scare us?”
Cassidy slipped the phone back into her bag.
“No.”
She looked at Brendan.
“It’s supposed to stop you.”
May you like
Seven minutes later, three black SUVs turned through the gates.
And Brendan Mercer’s smile disappeared.
