Chapter 3

The pale morning light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Central Park penthouse, casting long, cold shadows across the living room.

Claire sat on the edge of the freezing silk sofa. She hadn't slept a single second. She was still wearing her thin cotton pajamas, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist to stop the shivering.

The sharp buzz of the front door intercom shattered the dead silence of the apartment.

She stood up, her legs stiff, and walked to the entryway. When she opened the heavy door, Cooper's private attorney stood in the hallway, clutching a thick black leather briefcase. His face was a mask of professional apathy.

He didn't greet her. He simply unzipped the briefcase, pulled out a thick stack of legal documents, and shoved them toward her chest.

Bold, black letters screamed from the cover page: Marital Dissolution Agreement.

"Mr. Guthrie requires your signature immediately," the lawyer said, his tone clipped. "You are expected to vacate these premises by noon today."

Claire took the heavy stack of papers. She flipped to the second page. The terms were brutally clear. She would leave with exactly what she brought into the marriage: absolutely nothing.

But it wasn't the money that made her stomach twist into painful knots.

An image flashed behind her eyes. The erratic green lines on a hospital monitor, the sterile scent of an ICU ward, the life draining away. If she signed these papers, she would be thrown out of the Guthrie family. She would lose all access to Cooper's medical records. She would lose the ability to monitor his diet, his reckless drinking, his medication schedule. She would lose the right to protect the most important thing in the world.

Claire closed the folder. She looked the lawyer dead in the eye.

"I am not signing this," she said, her voice remarkably steady.

The lawyer pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. His professional mask slipped, revealing a sneer of contempt.

"Mrs. Guthrie," he said, the title dripping with sarcasm. "The Guthrie legal department has enough resources to ensure you never find employment or housing in New York City again. Do not play games with us."

Claire clenched her fists at her sides. Her fingernails bit into the raw crescent wounds from the night before. She clamped her mouth shut, refusing to give him a single word of ammunition.

The standoff was broken by the shrill, frantic ringing of the landline on the living room console.

Claire turned her back on the lawyer and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Claire!" It was the head butler from the Hamptons estate. His voice was completely broken, thick with panic and tears. "It's Mr. Sterling! He collapsed in the greenhouse! His heart..."

All the blood drained from Claire's face in a single second. Her fingers went numb. The heavy plastic receiver slipped from her grip, clattering loudly against the hardwood floor.

Sterling Guthrie. Cooper's grandfather. The only man who supported this marriage. The only power in the family capable of keeping Cooper on a leash.

If Sterling died, she had no shield left.

She ignored the lawyer completely. She sprinted down the hallway into the master bedroom, tearing off her pajamas and pulling on the first pair of jeans and a sweater she could find.

She grabbed her purse and the keys to the Porsche. She ran back out, blowing past the lawyer who was still standing in the doorway.

"Delaying this is pointless!" the lawyer shouted after her as she sprinted toward the elevators.

Claire slammed her hand against the elevator button, her breathing shallow and fast.

Five minutes later, she threw the Porsche into drive, the tires screeching against the concrete of the underground garage. She merged violently into the brutal Manhattan morning rush hour traffic.

The car radio was on. A financial anchor's voice filled the cabin.

"Guthrie Group stock is experiencing severe volatility this morning amid unconfirmed rumors regarding the health of patriarch Sterling Guthrie..."

Claire hit the mute button. She grabbed her phone and dialed the internal emergency line for Mount Sinai Hospital.

"This is Claire Guthrie," she said, her voice shaking. "Is the helicopter from the Hamptons inbound?"

"Yes, Mrs. Guthrie. ETA is four minutes to the roof pad."

Claire dropped the phone. She slammed her foot down on the gas pedal.

The Porsche's engine roared. The tires let out a high-pitched squeal as she swerved aggressively between a delivery truck and a cab.

Her hands gripped the leather steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned stark white. Her brain was a chaotic mess of terror. If Sterling didn't survive, the divorce would be finalized by tomorrow, and the heart would be left in the hands of a man who treated his own body like a garbage disposal.