Gayle Ford was sprawled across the custom velvet sofa. She was wearing her dirty designer shoes indoors, eating expensive Beluga caviar straight from the tin with a silver spoon.

Gayle looked up. Her heavily botoxed face twisted into an immediate sneer. "What are you doing here? You belong in the hospital."

Gayle didn't wait for an answer. She waved the silver spoon in the air. "The maid hasn't fluffed these pillows properly. Go to the kitchen and fetch me a glass of sparkling water. My throat is parched."

Ava stopped in the dead center of the room. She folded her arms across her chest, staring at Gayle with an expression of pure, unadulterated disgust.

Landon Stone stepped out from the hallway shadows, positioning himself right behind Ava. His massive frame cast a long, intimidating shadow over the glass coffee table. Gayle flinched, dropping her spoon into the tin.

Gayle pointed a manicured, trembling finger at Landon. "Who is this thug? I'm calling Bryant right now to have you both arrested!"

Ava ignored the threat. She kept her voice perfectly level. "You have exactly ten minutes to pack your cheap bags and vacate my premises."

Gayle burst into a harsh, mocking laugh. "Your premises? My son paid for this penthouse! You are nothing but a lucky charity case he dragged out of the mud."

Ava unzipped her bag. She pulled out a thick legal deed and tossed it onto the glass coffee table. It landed right next to the caviar tin with a heavy smack.

"Read it," Ava commanded.

Gayle's eyes darted to the document. She leaned forward, her face paling rapidly as she struggled to comprehend the complex legal jargon. The property's sole legal owner was a subsidiary of the Beaumont Group. And just an hour ago, that ownership was transferred unconditionally into her name by the family's attorneys. She own every square inch of the marble you are standing on.

Attempting to regain control of her shattered reality, Gayle stood up. "You're a barren wife!" she shouted, her chest heaving. "You can't even give Bryant a proper heir! You deserve nothing!"

Ava smiled. It was a cold, terrifying expression that didn't reach her eyes. "I agree. I won't be giving Bryant an heir. Because Kadence Fischer is already doing that job for him."

Gayle froze. Her mouth dropped open. The revelation of Kadence's pregnancy hit her completely by surprise.

For a second, Ava expected a mother's outrage at her son's infidelity. Instead, Gayle's eyes lit up with a sickening, greedy delight.

"A grandson?" Gayle muttered, her posture suddenly straightening. She looked at Ava with renewed arrogance. "Well, then you really do deserve to be thrown out. Kadence is carrying the true Ford legacy."

Ava looked at the older woman with utter pity. "The Ford legacy is nothing but a mountain of debt hidden behind a failing tech startup."

Ava didn't say another word to her. She gestured to Landon with a curt nod.

Landon stepped forward. He grabbed Gayle's oversized designer luggage by the handles and tossed it unceremoniously out into the elevator lobby. The bags hit the floor with a loud thud.

Gayle shrieked. She lunged forward to grab her bags, screaming at the top of her lungs. "I will have you arrested for assault! Elder abuse!"

Landon easily blocked her path. He used his imposing physical presence to herd the screaming woman out of the living room and toward the open elevator doors.

Ava watched from the doorway. She picked up Gayle's favorite, gaudy faux-fur coat from the armchair and tossed it out onto the lobby floor like a piece of trash.

"Enjoy the Tribeca townhouse, Gayle," Ava said smoothly. "Assuming Bryant can still afford the mortgage after today."

Gayle stumbled backward into the elevator cab. Her face was flushed dark red with rage and absolute humiliation. She clutched her fur coat to her chest, her mouth opening to scream another curse.

Ava reached out and pressed the lobby button on the elevator panel. She maintained direct, icy eye contact with her former mother-in-law.

The brass doors slid shut, cutting off Gayle's shrill voice mid-sentence. The penthouse plunged back into peaceful, beautiful silence.

Ava turned to Landon. "Have the building's security team sweep the apartment. Change every biometric lock."

She walked over to the panoramic window overlooking Central Park. She pulled out her phone, ready to arrange her transport. It was time to go home.

Chapter 4

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