Chapter 2

Ava sat perfectly still on the edge of the mattress. Her voice didn't waver as the call connected.

"Mr. Price," Ava said, her tone flat and devoid of any warmth.

On the other end of the line, the veteran Wall Street financier paused. "Ava? It's been three years. I thought you were playing the happy housewife."

"I'm done playing," Ava replied, her fingernail lightly tracing the cracked edge of her phone screen. "I need you to pull all the algorithmic backdoors I secretly coded for Ford Innovations. Immediately."

Mr. Price let out a low, rumbling chuckle. "I told you that tech bro was nothing without your brain. Consider the shadow withdrawal initiated. Welcome back to the game."

Ava hung up. She didn't smile.

She opened the banking application on her phone. The screen illuminated her pale, tearless face.

She navigated past her empty personal checking account and opened the shared marital accounts. There it was. The digital representation of Bryant's prized possession: his American Express Centurion Black Card.

Ava opened a luxury auction application she hadn't touched since before her marriage. Her eyes rapidly scanned the current live bids for high-end assets.

She found a rare, vintage Patek Philippe watch. The current bid sat at half a million dollars.

Ava tapped the screen. She entered a winning bid of five hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

The transaction processed instantly. A bright green confirmation checkmark flashed across the shattered glass of her screen.

Miles away, in a glass-walled corner office overlooking Manhattan, Bryant's personal smartphone vibrated violently against his mahogany desk.

Bryant picked it up, adjusting his silk tie with his free hand. His smug expression vanished the second his eyes registered the notification.

$550,000.00 - Patek Philippe Auction.

His breath hitched. He frantically refreshed his banking app, his thumb aggressively swiping the screen. He assumed it was a fraudulent charge. A catastrophic system error.

Back in the hospital room, Ava wasn't finished.

She casually opened a designer boutique's private client portal. She selected three Hermes Birkin bags in crocodile leather, adding them all to her digital cart.

She hit purchase.

Another two hundred and fifty thousand dollars instantly authorized on Bryant's primary line of credit.

Bryant's phone chimed again. The second massive alert flashed on his screen.

His hand jerked, knocking over his artisanal coffee cup. Brown liquid spilled rapidly across his pristine, quarterly IPO projection documents.

"What the hell!" Bryant screamed, his face flushing a dark, mottled red. He furiously dialed Ava's number.

Ava watched Bryant's caller ID flash on her screen. A faint, mocking smile touched the corners of her lips. She pressed the red ignore button.

In his office, Bryant slammed his fist hard against the mahogany wood. "Get the credit card company on the phone!" he roared at his terrified assistant through the open door.

Kadence pushed into his office, her lips formed in a heavy pout. "Bryant, you're yelling. It's bad for the baby."

Bryant hastily shoved his phone face-down on the desk. He forced a tight, unnatural smile, too deeply embarrassed to admit to his mistress that his supposedly helpless wife was currently draining his net worth.

Ava tossed her phone onto the hospital mattress. She walked into the small en-suite bathroom.

She stared at her pale reflection in the mirror. The bruise on her cheekbone was an ugly purple. She turned on the faucet and splashed freezing cold water over her face, washing away the last pathetic traces of Ava Patterson.

She looked down at her left hand. The cheap silver wedding band Bryant had given her felt like a shackle.

She pulled it off her finger. She dropped it unceremoniously into the metal trash can. It hit the bottom with a hollow, pathetic clink.

Ava walked back to the bed and remembered the emergency executive protection contact printed on the legal letterhead attached to her DNA report. Her thumb tapped the cracked glass, dialing the number. 'This is Ava. I need immediate assistance.' On the other end, the Beaumont family's chief security officer instantly understood the directive, his response immediate and absolute.

She requested an immediate executive protection extraction. She refused to spend another second in a room paid for by Bryant Ford.

A sharp, heavy knock hit the door. Landon Stone stepped into the room. He was a towering security operative in a flawless dark suit, his eyes scanning the room for threats in a fraction of a second.

"Ma'am," Landon said, his voice a deep gravel. He respectfully handed Ava a pair of dark designer sunglasses and a sleek, unmarked garment bag. "Mr. Casey Beaumont asked me to bring you a change of clothes. The private elevator has been secured."

Ava took the heavy fabric of the bag, a strange warmth blooming in her chest at her brother's foresight. She stepped back into the en-suite bathroom. She stripped off the uncomfortable hospital gown. Her ribs screamed in protest, but she ignored the pain, pulling on the tailored black slacks and a simple silk blouse her brother had thoughtfully provided.

Bryant attempted to call her phone a final time. The automated voice informed him the number was no longer in service.

Ava stepped into the plush leather interior of a waiting armored black SUV.

"Where to, Ms. Beaumont?" Landon asked from the driver's seat.

"The Upper East Side," Ava said, leaning her head back against the headrest.