Chapter 3

Estella walked into Conrad's home office at precisely nine the next morning. She hadn't slept. She had spent the night staring at the ceiling, planning. The dark circles under her eyes were hidden by concealer, and her hair was pulled back in a tight, severe bun. She wore a simple black dress-no jewelry, no perfume. Armor.

Conrad sat behind his massive mahogany desk, looking freshly showered and impeccably dressed. Beside him sat a man in a gray suit, his face blank and professional. A lawyer.

"Estella," Conrad said, leaning back in his chair. He steepled his fingers, a smirk playing on his lips. "You look rough. Didn't sleep well?"

She ignored the jab. She walked to the two leather chairs facing the desk and sat down, crossing her ankles. "Let's get this over with."

The lawyer cleared his throat, sliding a thick manila folder across the desk. "Mrs. Nieves, my client wishes to expedite this process with minimal friction. This is the proposed settlement."

Estella opened the folder. The pages were crisp, the legal jargon dense, but the numbers were clear. Zero. She was getting zero.

"As per the prenuptial agreement you signed," the lawyer continued, "you are not entitled to any of Mr. Nieves' assets accrued during the marriage, as you did not contribute financially to the household."

Estella turned the page. Her eyes scanned the clauses. No alimony. No property. No shares.

"Furthermore," the lawyer said, "Mr. Nieves is willing to offer you three months of temporary support as a gesture of goodwill, provided you vacate the apartment within forty-eight hours."

Conrad chuckled, a low, mean sound. "Let's be honest, Estella. You haven't worked in a decade. What are you going to do, get a job as a secretary? You don't even know how to use Excel."

The lawyer shifted uncomfortably. "The terms are generous, given the circumstances."

Estella looked up from the document. She looked at Conrad, really looked at him. The man she had cooked for, the man whose clothes she had laid out every morning, the man whose OCD she had managed for a decade. He was a stranger. A cruel, arrogant stranger.

"I'm not signing this," she said, her voice flat.

Conrad stopped smiling. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not signing this," she repeated, closing the folder. "I don't want your three months of charity. And I'm not leaving with nothing."

"You don't have a choice," Conrad said, his voice hardening. "The prenup is ironclad. You signed it."

"I know what I signed," Estella said. Her mind flashed back to a year ago, organizing the family's digital albums. She'd stumbled upon a photo that had made a knot of unease tighten in her stomach. At the time, she'd dismissed it as an odd angle, a trick of the light. Now, she understood. She reached into her small handbag and pulled out her phone. She tapped the screen a few times, then placed it face-up on the desk.

Conrad leaned forward to look. The color drained from his face.

It was a photo. A party at the Lowe estate, years ago. Jana was there, barely eighteen, wearing a dress that was too mature for her. And Conrad was in the background, his hand resting on her lower back in a way that was definitely not brotherly.

"Where did you get that?" Conrad hissed.

"It was on the cloud," Estella said. "I was organizing the family albums last year. I thought it was just a weird angle. Now I know better."

The lawyer's face had gone pale. "Mr. Nieves, is that-"

"It's nothing," Conrad snapped, but his jaw was clenched so tight the muscles bulged.

"If this photo were to leak," Estella said, her voice calm and steady, "along with the timeline of your relationship with my sister... well. The board of Nieves Corp might not appreciate the CEO having a relationship with a minor, even a technical one. The press would have a field day."

"You're blackmailing me?" Conrad roared, slamming his fist on the desk. "You crazy bitch!"

"I'm negotiating," Estella corrected, not flinching. "You took ten years of my life. You humiliated me. You made me a laughingstock. I want something in return."

Conrad glared at her, his chest heaving. He looked at the lawyer, who gave a tiny, almost imperceptible shake of his head. The lawyer knew. A scandal like this could tank the stock.

"What do you want?" Conrad ground out.

"The house," Estella said.

Conrad blinked. "What?"

"Willow Creek Manor," Estella said. The old, dilapidated estate upstate that Conrad had bought as a 'fixer-upper' and abandoned after one weekend. "Transfer the deed to my name. Add a confidentiality clause to the agreement. I keep my mouth shut, you get to keep your CEO chair."

Conrad stared at her, then let out a bark of laughter. "That piece of shit? It's a money pit. The roof is caving in. You want that?"

"Yes," Estella said.

"Fine," Conrad said, grabbing a pen. He scribbled something on the margin of the agreement, signing his name with an aggressive slash. "Take it. It's worth less than the garbage you'll be living out of. Now get out of my sight."

Estella stood up. She took the pen, signed her name beneath his, and picked up the folder. She didn't look at him as she walked out of the office. She didn't look back as she walked out of the penthouse.

She had a house. It was a broken, useless house, but it was hers.