Chapter 2

Ardella stopped in front of the heavy, soundproof door of the VIP room. She took a deep breath, trying to force her racing pulse back to a normal rhythm. Her chest was still tight from seeing Ethelbert.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She switched the ringer off and opened the camera app, setting it to record in high definition.

She reached out and wrapped her fingers around the cold metal door handle. She pressed down on it, just an inch.

The door cracked open. The thick soundproofing broke, and the loud, obnoxious laughter from inside the room flooded her ears.

She looked through the narrow gap. Braden Coffey was slouched back on a leather sofa. His expensive shirt was unbuttoned halfway down his chest.

A Broadway actress named Scarlett was straddling Braden's lap. She was holding a crystal flute of champagne, giggling loudly.

A hedge fund manager standing near the table raised his crystal glass, the amber liquid swirling inside. He leaned in, a sly, condescending smirk playing on his lips. Instead of a blatant insult, he chose the sophisticated cruelty typical of Wall Street. He yelled over the heavy bass of the music, "Braden, my man, you're really taking one for the team with this merger! Heard the Price family name carries a lot more debt than prestige these days. I just hope the girl is worth the charity!"

Braden let out a loud, arrogant laugh. He did not try to hide his disgust for Ardella.

Ardella kept her hand perfectly still. She pressed the red record button on her screen, zooming in slightly to capture Braden's face in clear focus.

Braden kept talking. He bragged to the room that he was only marrying Ardella to keep his father happy for the corporate merger. He said that once the papers were signed, they would live completely separate lives.

Scarlett pouted. She hit Braden lightly on the chest and asked if he thought his new fiancée was prettier than her.

Braden grabbed Scarlett's chin. He laughed and called Ardella a boring nun. He said he had absolutely no desire to ever touch her.

The men in the room erupted into louder, uglier laughter.

Ardella watched the screen. A cold thrill ran through her veins. She felt the exact satisfaction of a hunter watching a trap snap shut on a careless animal.

She kept the camera rolling. She needed to make sure every single word that violated their prenuptial morality clause was captured perfectly.

Braden pulled Scarlett down and started kissing her aggressively. His hands moved all over her body in plain sight of everyone.

Ardella decided she had enough. The evidence was destructive enough to ruin him. She tapped the screen and stopped the recording.

Her fingers moved quickly. She uploaded the video file directly to her encrypted cloud drive. She watched the progress bar hit one hundred percent.

She put her phone back into her bag. She closed her eyes for one second and adjusted the muscles in her face.

When she opened her eyes, the cold hunter was gone. In its place was the perfect mask of a shocked, heartbroken, and devastated fiancée.

Ardella shoved the heavy door hard. The wood slammed against the inside wall with a loud bang.

The laughter in the room died instantly. Every single pair of eyes snapped toward the doorway.

Braden shoved Scarlett off his lap. The arrogant smirk vanished from his face, replaced by pure, naked panic.

Scarlett let out a high-pitched scream. She scrambled to pull up the straps of her dress.

Ardella walked into the room. Her heels clicked loudly against the hardwood floor. Each step sounded like a hammer hitting an anvil in the dead silence.

The hedge fund manager who had been laughing a minute ago slowly lowered his glass. He took a step backward, trying to blend into the dark wallpaper.

Braden stuttered. He choked on his words, calling out Ardella's name and waving his hands, trying to say it was all a misunderstanding.

Ardella stopped in front of the low glass table. She looked down at Braden, who was still sitting on the sofa looking like a cornered rat.

Her eyes were slightly red. Her lower lip trembled just the right amount. She played the role of the betrayed woman flawlessly.

She reached down and picked up a glass of iced martini from the table. She locked her cold eyes onto Braden's sweating face.