Chapter 2

The manila envelope sat on the coffee table between them. The word "CONFIDENTIAL" was stamped in red ink on the front. Carma stared at it. The letters blurred for a moment before snapping back into focus.

"Sign it, Carma." Kendall tapped his fingers against his thigh. "Take the money. Go back to Ohio. It's the best deal you're going to get."

Mildred swirled her brandy. "Don't be foolish, girl. That money can buy you a very nice little house in whatever flyover state you choose. It's more than you ever had."

Carma reached out. Her fingers brushed the rough paper of the envelope. She picked it up and pulled out the stack of documents inside.

She read slowly. The legal jargon was dense, but the meaning was clear. She was to have no contact with the media. She was to relinquish all rights to the Kirby name. She was to admit that the marriage was a mistake. And in return, she would receive a one-time payment of $250,000.

A quarter of a million dollars. For three years of her life.

She flipped through the pages. She saw the schedules she had managed for him. The scripts she had annotated for him late at night. The fan mail she had sorted. The family gatherings she had catered. The dry cleaning she had picked up. All of it reduced to a payout that wouldn't even cover a month of his mortgage.

"Stop stalling," Kendall snapped. "My lawyers aren't going to negotiate with someone who doesn't even have a credit card in her own name."

Carma looked up. A strange feeling was uncurling in her stomach. It wasn't sadness anymore. It was something sharper. Something cold and clear.

She smiled. It felt unnatural on her face, stiff and brittle.

She gripped the stack of papers with both hands. And she pulled.

The paper tore with a loud rip. Kendall flinched.

She tore it again. And again. She tore the NDA. She tore the settlement agreement. She tore the pages that called her a mistake. The sound of shredding paper filled the silent room. Scraps fluttered to the floor, landing on the expensive rug like confetti.

"Are you out of your mind?" Kendall roared. He lunged forward, but Carma threw the remaining scraps right at his face.

"I'm not signing this," she said. Her voice was ice. "If you want a divorce, fine. But the agreement will be drafted by my lawyer."

She turned on her heel and walked away. She didn't look back at the shock on their faces. She climbed the stairs, her legs steady, her heart pounding a rhythm of pure adrenaline.

She reached the master bedroom and locked the door. She leaned against it, breathing hard. The anger was still there, buzzing under her skin. She needed to use it.

She walked to the closet and pushed aside a row of Kendall's suits. Hidden behind a shoebox was a small safe. She punched in the code and pulled out a black phone. Not her personal phone. This one was strictly business.

She dialed the number from memory.

"Ethan Hunt speaking." The voice on the other end was upbeat, loud. Background noise of clinking glasses and laughter filtered through the speaker.

"It's me."

"Xen! My favorite person!" Ethan's voice dropped an octave in excitement. "Tell me you're ready. The CAA gala starts in an hour. Marcus Thorne is practically salivating. Kendall Kirby is ready to sign his life away for The Poison Ivy. This is the big leagues, baby."

Carma walked to the window. She looked out at the lights of Los Angeles sprawling below her. The city that had chewed her up and spit her out.

"Cancel it, Ethan."

The line went silent for a beat. "Cancel? Cancel the gala? Xen, are you sick? This is the deal of a lifetime. CAA is offering you the moon!"

"I don't want the moon," Carma said. Her voice was flat. "I'm not signing with CAA. And I am absolutely not working with Kendall Kirby."

"What? Why?" Ethan sounded panicked. "Kendall is using this as his Oscar follow-up! He needs this IP to transition to producing. If you pull out, he's dead in the water."

"Then let him drown." Carma watched a plane blink across the sky. "I don't work with hypocrites. Tell Marcus Thorne that Kendall Kirby doesn't deserve my work."

"Xen, wait-"

She ended the call. She turned off the phone and put it back in the safe. Her hands were shaking, but her mind was crystal clear.

Downstairs, the silence was shattered by the shrill ringtone of Kendall's phone. She heard him answer, his voice muffled through the floor.

Then, a roar. "What do you mean she canceled? Marcus, what the hell are you talking about?"

Carma sat down on the edge of the bed. She listened to the muffled shouts drifting up the stairs. Kendall was screaming about betrayal and sabotage. He had no idea that the woman he just called a stain was the very key to his future.

And she had just locked the door.