After what happened on the stairs because of my mother-in-law, I woke up in the hospital, signed the divorce papers, and walked away without a word.

The mugshot of Victoria Vance hit the front pages of every newspaper the next morning.

Her hair was disheveled, her makeup smeared, and the arrogance that had defined her for sixty years was replaced by a look of sheer, unadulterated terror. She had been charged with Aggravated Assault, Reckless Endangerment, and Criminal Tampering with Evidence for attempting to wipe the security servers.

Because of the severity of the charges and the flight risk posed by her wealth, the judge set her bail at five million dollars, cash only.

Dominic, frantically trying to assemble the bail money, found himself completely trapped. Every asset he thought he owned was tied up in Crestwood Global Holdings. He couldn't liquidate the mansion, he couldn't sell his shares, and his personal credit cards were dead.

In a state of utter panic, he turned to the only person he thought had money left: Paige.

I watched the security feed from Paige’s luxury apartment building—which I had bought access to through my investigators.

Dominic banged furiously on Paige’s door until she finally opened it. She was dressed in sweatpants, looking stressed and exhausted.

"Paige! I need the money back!" Dominic yelled, pushing his way into her living room. "The one point four million I transferred into your account! I need it for my mother’s bail right now!"

Paige backed away, her hands raised. "Are you insane, Dominic?! I don't have that money!"

"What do you mean you don't have it?!" Dominic roared, grabbing her by the shoulders. "I gave you over a million dollars over the past year! Where is it?!"

"I spent it!" Paige screamed back, shoving him away. "I bought the Hermes bags! I leased the penthouse! I bought stock! And whatever is left was frozen this morning by the federal prosecutors! I don't have a dime, Dominic! I'm broke too!"

Dominic stood in the middle of the room, breathing heavily, his mind shattering. "You... you spent it? You used me?"

"Used you?!" Paige sneered, her sweet, innocent mistress persona completely slipping away to reveal the cold gold-digger underneath. "You told me you were a billionaire! You told me your wife was a penniless charity case who was leeching off of you! You lied to me, Dominic! You're nothing! You're just a fake, weak little boy who relies on his mommy for everything! Get the hell out of my apartment before I call the police!"

"This is my apartment! I paid for it!"

"No, your company paid for it!" Paige taunted him. "And guess who owns the company? Audrey! She already sent an eviction notice this morning! We’re both being thrown out, you idiot!"

Dominic looked at her, completely broken. The woman he had destroyed his marriage for, the woman he had traded his wife and unborn child for, looked at him with nothing but pure disgust.

He turned around and stumbled out into the hallway like a ghost.

While Dominic was losing his mind, I was sitting in the corner office of Vance Development—now officially renamed Crestwood Construction & Real Estate.

I had called a company-wide town hall meeting. All three hundred employees were gathered in the main auditorium or tuning in via video stream. They were terrified. They thought the company was going under, that their jobs were gone, and that the Vance scandal would bankrupt them all.

I stepped onto the stage wearing a simple, elegant navy blue dress. The room went silent.

"Good morning, everyone," I spoke into the microphone, my voice steady and commanding. "I know the last forty-eight hours have been chaotic. You have seen your former CEO dragged through the press, and you are naturally worried about your livelihoods, your families, and your futures."

I paused, looking across the sea of anxious faces.

"I am here to tell you that Vance Development is not going bankrupt. In fact, effective today, I am personally injecting thirty million dollars of capital into this company. All pending construction projects will resume immediately. No jobs will be cut. In fact, every non-executive employee will receive a ten percent raise starting on your next paycheck to compensate for the stress this leadership failure has caused you."

The room gasped. Then, someone near the back started clapping. Within seconds, the entire auditorium erupted into a thunderous standing ovation. Employees were cheering, weeping with relief, and shaking hands.

"Dominic Vance ruled this company through fear, greed, and corruption," I continued over the applause. "Under my leadership, this company will be built on integrity, accountability, and respect. Welcome to the new Crestwood Era."

As I stepped off the stage, Sophia met me at the wings, holding a legal tablet.

"That was brilliant, Audrey," she smiled warmly. "The stock price just bounced back forty percent in mid-day trading."

"How is Dominic?" I asked coldly.

"He's currently sitting in a cheap motel near JFK airport. He tried to book a flight to Dubai, but his passport has been flagged by the FBI due to the corporate tax evasion charges we turned over to the federal prosecutors."

"And Victoria?"

Sophia’s smile widened into something truly predatory. "She’s sitting in a holding cell at Rikers Island. She couldn't make bail. And her arraignment is in two hours."