Chapter 3

I opened the document on top and skimmed the text by the moonlight spilling in through the window.

It was a share pledge agreement, along with several side-bet contracts tied to shorting Holloway Group stock.

Lucas's name was signed under Party A.

Party B was an offshore company registered overseas.

Its legal representative was Vanessa's younger brother.

I took out my phone and photographed each page.

Then the screen suddenly lit up with a message.

An unknown number had sent me a picture.

It showed a messy bed.

Scattered across the sheets were a man's tie and the shirt I had personally picked out for Lucas that very morning.

Another message followed right after.

"Miss Holloway. Lucas said you're so stiff in bed that even touching you bores him. You've held onto the title of Mrs. Ashford long enough. Isn't it time you stepped aside on your own?"

Every word reeked of impatient, desperate possessiveness.

I looked at the photo on the screen without the slightest ripple of emotion.

In my previous life, I had confronted him with pictures like this, only to be brushed off with excuses about business rivals fabricating evidence.

Now it was obvious that even tricks this cheap had just been part of their little game.

I saved the photo and blocked the number without a second thought.

Then I bundled up the contract images I had just taken and sent them to my father.

"Dad, take a look at these."

Less than a minute later, he called.

My father's voice was low and trembling.

"Where did you get these, Claire?"

"From Lucas's safe," I said calmly, leaning against the desk.

"That bastard. He actually teamed up with outsiders to short the Holloway family?"

"Dad, this is not the time to get angry," I cut him off. "First thing tomorrow morning, issue a public statement in the company's name. Terminate all cooperation related to the Southside project."

"But the penalty for breach of contract..."

"I'll figure out the penalty." My tone turned hard. "At the same time, move every liquid asset the Holloway family can cash out into the overseas account I sent you."

He hesitated on the other end.

"What are you planning to do?"

"I'm going to make him pay back every last cent, with interest."

I stared at Lucas's signature in the photo.

Didn't he want a company?

Then I would hand him one. A company rotten to the core.

After hanging up, I put everything in the safe back exactly as it had been.

Then I slipped silently back into the bedroom.

Lucas was just coming in from the balcony.

He came back to bed with the chill of the night still clinging to him.

Out of habit, he wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Why are you still awake?" he asked, noticing how stiff my body had gone.

"I got cold and woke up for a bit." I didn't push him away.

"The lawyer will bring the agreement tomorrow. Once it's signed, I'll go with you to try on dresses for the anniversary."

His chin rested in the hollow of my neck, his breathing even.

I closed my eyes and answered with a single word. "Okay."

The next morning, the lawyer arrived at the Holloway mansion right on time with the proxy holding agreement.

Lucas sat across from me and personally handed me a pen.

"Sign it. From now on, I'll carry everything for the Holloway family for you, Claire."

His eyes looked so tender they could have drowned someone.

I took the pen and scrawled my name across the signature line.

As Lucas looked at my signature on the agreement, a flash of wild delight flickered in his eyes.

He slipped the document into his briefcase.

"Thanks, honey. I'll take you to try on couture dresses this afternoon."

"No need. I'm going shopping with a friend this afternoon." I stood up. "Just have the dress sent to the house."

"That works too. I'll head back to the company and take care of a few things first." He was clearly itching to cash in on that agreement.

As I watched him hurry away, I dialed another number.

"Julian, what exactly triggers the agreement I just signed?"

Julian Cross's steady voice came through the line.

"The moment Lucas uses that agreement to mortgage assets, he automatically assumes all of the Holloway family's hidden liabilities."

"Good." I hung up.

Lucas thought he had gotten his hands on the Holloway family's lifeline.

What he had really taken was a one-way ticket to hell.

I lifted the coffee on the table and took a sip, letting the bitterness spread slowly across my tongue.