Chapter 7

Three days later.

The sun was setting over the Hudson River, casting long, bloody streaks of light across the floor of the penthouse study.

Hayden sat behind the massive oak desk. The glow of her computer screen illuminated her face. Her features were sharp, focused, and entirely devoid of emotion.

She opened the encrypted email from her private attorney.

Attached was a document titled: Post-nuptial Asset Separation and Claim Waiver Agreement.

She clicked on it. She read through the fifty-page document line by line. Her eyes scanned the dense legal jargon, ensuring every trap, every loophole, and every concession was perfectly in place. The document effectively stripped Bernhard of any claim to the hidden assets she controlled, specifically the intellectual property and equity of Atelier L.

It was flawless.

She hit print.

The laser printer in the corner hummed to life. The pages slid out, warm and crisp.

Hayden gathered the stack of paper. She tapped the edges against the desk to align them perfectly. She clamped a heavy black binder clip over the top corner.

She walked out of the study and into the sprawling living room. She placed the document dead center on the glass coffee table. She placed a black Montblanc pen right next to it.

Then, she sat down on the velvet sofa and waited.

At exactly 7:00 PM, the electronic lock on the front door beeped.

The door swung open.

Bernhard walked in. He looked disheveled. His tie was loose, his hair was messy, and he was carrying a massive, expensive bouquet of red roses.

The moment he stepped into the room, the heavy, sour stench of whiskey and stale cigar smoke hit Hayden's nose. He had been drinking. Heavily.

He saw her sitting on the sofa. He put on a crooked, arrogant smile, thinking the three-day silent treatment was finally over.

"Hayden," he sighed, walking toward her with his arms slightly open. "Three days. Are you done throwing your little tantrum now?"

He leaned in to kiss her.

Hayden pressed her back hard against the sofa cushions, turning her face away so sharply her neck cracked. The smell of the alcohol mixed with another woman's perfume on his collar made her stomach violently contract.

Bernhard's arms dropped. His smile vanished, replaced by a dark, ugly scowl.

He threw the bouquet of roses onto the sofa next to her. The thorns snagged the velvet.

"Fine," he snapped. "Be a bitch. I'm trying to be the bigger person here."

Hayden didn't look at the flowers. She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at the document on the coffee table.

"Sign it."

Bernhard frowned. He looked down at the thick stack of papers. He picked it up, his eyes struggling to focus on the title page.

He let out a loud, mocking laugh.

"Asset separation?" He looked at her like she was a toddler holding a toy gun. "Are you out of your mind? You want to separate assets?"

He tossed the document back onto the table with a loud smack.

"Hayden, you don't have any assets. I pay for this penthouse. I pay your credit cards. Without my family's trust, you couldn't afford the maintenance fees on this building. What exactly are you separating?"

Hayden stared at him. Her eyes were flat, cold, and utterly unbothered.

"That is my problem," she said evenly. "You just need to sign."

Bernhard stared at her. His alcohol-soaked brain processed her coldness as a desperate bluff. He thought she was trying to scare him into begging her to stay.

His ego flared, hot and blinding. He wanted to crush her bluff. He wanted to watch her panic when he called it.

"You want to play hardball?" he sneered. "Fine. Let's play."

He didn't read a single page. He didn't look at the clauses. He flipped the thick stack of papers directly to the last page.

He picked up the Montblanc pen.

He pressed the nib into the paper and aggressively scrawled his signature on the dotted line.

"There," he said, throwing the pen onto the table. It clattered against the glass. "You're separated. Let's see how long you last before you come crawling back for your allowance."

Hayden leaned forward. She picked up the document. Her heart gave one massive, triumphant thump against her ribs. She had it. She had her freedom.

She slid the papers into her leather briefcase and snapped the locks shut.

Suddenly, her cell phone, resting on the side table, began to ring.

The shrill sound cut through the tense silence of the room.

Hayden glanced at the screen. The caller ID read: Mount Sinai Hospice Care.

All the blood drained from Hayden's face. Her stomach dropped into a bottomless pit.

Her hands shook as she grabbed the phone and swiped to answer.

"Hello?"

"Miss Carter," a nurse's voice came through the speaker, tight and urgent. "It's your grandmother. Her vitals just crashed. You need to get here right now."

Hayden's lungs stopped working. The room spun.

The phone slipped from her fingers, clattering onto the floor.

She shot up from the sofa. She grabbed her car keys from the bowl by the door and snatched her coat.

"Where are you going?" Bernhard demanded, his voice thick with anger. "We aren't done talking!"

Hayden didn't even look at him. She yanked the front door open.

"My grandmother is dying," she choked out, her voice cracking.

She ran down the hallway and slammed her hand against the elevator button.

Bernhard stood in the living room. He watched the door close. He let out a harsh scoff.

"Nice excuse," he muttered to the empty room. "Your acting is getting worse."

He walked over to the crystal decanter on the bar cart and poured himself another glass of whiskey.

In the elevator, Hayden leaned against the mirrored wall. She watched the floor numbers tick down. Her chest he heave, and hot, silent tears streamed down her face, begging the universe to let her make it in time.