Chapter 3

The armored black SUV glided smoothly down FDR Drive. The heavy tinted windows shielded Ava from the glaring afternoon sun and the prying eyes of the city.

Ava opened her newly purchased, heavily encrypted laptop. She rested it on her knees, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

Within seconds, she bypassed Ford Innovations' primary firewall. Bryant had never bothered to change the security protocols she had built for him.

She located the finalized blueprints of her proprietary algorithm-the very code that made his company valuable. She hit download. Once the files were secure on her hard drive, she executed a command that completely wiped the master files from Bryant's servers.

Landon Stone glanced at the rearview mirror. "Ma'am, a vehicle registered to Ford Innovations is currently parked outside the Fifth Avenue penthouse."

Ava closed the laptop with a sharp snap. A cold, razor-thin smile formed on her lips. Bryant's mother, Gayle, was making herself comfortable.

Her new burner phone vibrated against the leather seat. The screen displayed an unknown number, but Ava instantly recognized the digits of Bryant's private office line.

She picked it up and pressed the phone to her ear. She didn't say a single word. She let the heavy silence stretch across the cellular network.

"Ava!" Bryant's furious voice erupted through the speaker, loud enough that Landon could hear it from the front seat. "Is your phone stolen? Who the hell authorized eight hundred thousand dollars in charges? !"

Ava calmly adjusted her dark sunglasses. "I made the purchases, Bryant. I felt like doing some light shopping."

Bryant choked on his own breath. "Are you out of your mind? ! Cancel those transactions right now!"

"No," Ava said, her voice dropping to a freezing, terrifying whisper.

"Listen to me, you hysterical bitch," Bryant spat, his panic making him vicious. "The IPO requires strict financial optics. You are ruining my life's work because you're throwing a tantrum!"

Ava ignored his yelling. She traced the edge of her laptop. "How is the townhouse in Tribeca?"

Bryant went dead silent. The sudden, suffocating shift in his demeanor was palpable even through the phone.

Ava didn't stop. "Purchased exactly fourteen months ago. Four point two million dollars. Placed under a shell LLC, but the primary resident listed is Kadence Fischer."

"Ava..." Bryant stammers, the air completely leaving his lungs. "It's... it's a corporate investment property. For tax purposes. You don't understand business-"

Ava let out a dry, humorless laugh. The image of Kadence's hand resting on her stomach flashed behind her eyes. "I saw her holding her stomach at the hospital today, Bryant. Do corporate investment properties usually come with enough space for a nursery? I wonder if Kadence has picked out the crib yet."

The loud crash of a chair being knocked over echoed through the phone. Bryant's panic had reached an absolute boiling point.

"Ava, please," Bryant begged, suddenly adopting a sickeningly soothing, manipulative tone. "Just stay at the hospital. Let me come explain everything. I can fix this."

"Don't bother rushing back to the Upper East Side," Ava said, her voice devoid of any human emotion. "Your access to the penthouse is officially revoked."

"You can't do that! I pay for-"

Ava pressed the red end-call button, cutting his screaming threat off mid-sentence.

She pulled the back off the burner phone, removed the tiny SIM card, and snapped it in half with her thumb. She dropped the plastic pieces into her designer handbag.

The SUV pulled up to the curb outside the towering, ultra-exclusive residential building on Fifth Avenue.

Landon quickly exited the vehicle. He opened the heavy rear door and extended a professional, gloved hand to assist Ava onto the pavement.

The building's seasoned doorman spotted Ava approaching. He immediately straightened his posture, tipping his hat in deep respect. "Mrs. Ford, we didn't expect you back so soon."

Ava stopped in front of the brass podium. "It's Ms. Beaumont now. And I need you to permanently remove Bryant Ford from the approved guest and resident access list. Immediately."

The doorman's eyes widened in shock, but he didn't hesitate. He typed the restriction directly into the building's main security terminal. "Done, ma'am."

Ava stepped into the private, gold-trimmed elevator. She swiped her master keycard to access the top-floor penthouse.

The elevator ascended rapidly. The digital numbers ticked upward, matching the steady, calm beating of her heart.

The brass doors slid open with a soft chime. The expansive, sunlit foyer of the multi-million-dollar residence stretched out before her.

From the living room, a shrill, complaining voice echoed off the marble walls. Gayle Ford was inside, exactly as Ava expected.