Chapter 3 - The Desperate Maneuver
Daniel tracked Claire down to a boutique hotel in the city center. He didn't come with flowers or apologies. He came with a look of pure, unadulterated fury. He burst into her suite, slamming the door behind him.
"You ruined me!" he roared, pacing the room like a caged animal. "The SEC is all over my books! The Morettis have disowned me, and my firm is insolvent. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?"
Claire stood by the window, watching the rain streak against the glass. She didn't turn around. "I didn't ruin you, Daniel. I simply revealed who you always were. You built your house on sand. You shouldn't be surprised when the tide comes in."
"You were my wife!" he spat. "You owed me your loyalty."
Claire turned then, her eyes sharp and devoid of the softness he had once exploited. "Loyalty is a contract between equals, Daniel. You didn't want a wife. You wanted an ornament, a punching bag for your ego. You wanted someone to keep the house warm while you treated our life like a playground."
Daniel lunged for her, his face twisted in rage. He had always relied on his physical presence to intimidate her into silence. But he didn't count on the fact that Claire had hired security.
Before he could reach her, the suite door opened, and two men in plain clothes stepped in, effectively blocking his path. Daniel stopped, his chest heaving.
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"I’m not here to fight you, Daniel," Claire said, her voice deathly calm. "I’m here to offer you a way out. Sign these divorce papers. Relinquish all claims to the joint accounts—which I’ve already moved to a blind trust, by the way—and disappear. If you do, I might hold back the final set of documents regarding your involvement in the Moretti embezzlement scheme."
Daniel stared at her, his mouth agape. He realized then that he wasn't looking at the woman he married. He was looking at a predator, one that had been sharpening its claws in the shadows for a long, long time.
