“No,” Brendan shook his head, denial washing over him. “You clip coupons. You drive a Honda.”
“I wanted to be sure you loved me,” I said, my voice cracking slightly. “I wanted to believe a family could accept me with nothing.” I gestured to my wet dress. “Tonight, you gave me my answer.”
I picked up my purse. “Security will be here at 8:00 AM to change the locks. Anything left behind will be donated to charity.”
“Cassidy, please!” Jessica threw herself at my feet. “I didn’t know! Brendan told me you were abusive! I have student loans!”
“You should have thought about that before you threw dirty looks at a pregnant woman,” I said, pulling my hand away.
I walked to the door.
“Wait!” Brendan screamed. “I’m the father of your child! You can’t leave me like this! We’re married! Half of this is mine!”
I laughed, a dry, dark sound. “The prenup, Brendan. The one your mother forced me to sign. Section 15: In the event of infidelity, the cheating spouse forfeits all claims.“
I opened the heavy oak door. Outside, a black town car had just pulled up. A driver in a suit stepped out. It was Arthur.
“Mrs. Vanguard,” Arthur said, opening the back door. “I brought a warm blanket.”
I climbed in, leaving the screams of the Morrisons echoing in the foyer.
The car ride to the city was a blur of rain and neon. I sat in the back, wrapped in cashmere, my hand resting on my belly. Freedom tasted like ash and exhaustion.
“We’re going to the Penthouse,” Arthur said gently. “I’ve called Dr. Evans to check the baby.”
But when we arrived at the underground garage of the Millennium Tower, something was wrong.
There was a vintage 1960s Jaguar parked in my private spot.
My heart stopped. I knew that car.
A man stepped out. He was older, silver-haired, wearing a suit that cost more than the GDP of a small nation. Elias Thorne. My father’s biggest rival. The shark who had tried to buy Vanguard three times.
He watched my car pull up and smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile.
I rolled down the window. “Elias. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I saw the news, Cassidy,” Elias said, his voice like velvet over gravel. “Word travels fast. Firing the husband. The embezzlement. Majestic.”
“If you’re here to gloat, leave.”
“I’m not here to gloat. I’m here to warn you.” He leaned in. “You think Brendan was smart enough to set up those shell companies by himself? The boy is an idiot.”
I frowned. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying someone helped him,” Elias said, his eyes glinting. “Someone on your Board. Someone who wanted to weaken Vanguard from the inside so the stock price would drop enough for a hostile takeover.”
My blood ran cold. “Who?”
“Watch your back, kid,” Elias said, tapping the roof of my car. “The wolves are real. And they’re already in the house.”
He got back into his Jaguar and roared away.
I looked at Arthur. For the first time, he looked scared. “We have to go upstairs. Now.”
The war wasn’t over. The battle with Brendan was just a skirmish. The real war for my legacy had just begun.
The penthouse became a war room. We didn’t sleep.
I called in the “Ghosts”—a team of forensic accountants my father had kept on retainer. They arrived at 2:00 AM.
“Find the link,” I ordered. “Connect Brendan’s shell companies to a member of the Board.”
For six hours, the only sounds were mechanical keyboards and the hum of servers. I sat on the sofa with a heating pad, feeling the baby kick. Hold on, little one. Mommy has one more monster to slay.
At 8:15 AM, the lead analyst spun her laptop around. “Got him.”
On the screen was a web of transactions. Brendan’s fake company had funneled 60% of its stolen funds into a blind trust in the Caymans.
“Who owns the trust?” Arthur asked.
The analyst hit a key. M.H. Holdings.
“Marcus Halloway,” I whispered.
Arthur gasped. “Your godfather? The Chairman of the Board?”
“He pushed for Brendan,” I realized, pacing the room. “He encouraged the marriage. He wanted me distracted. He wanted me ‘docile’ while he stripped the company for parts.”
“He has a massive short position on Vanguard stock,” the analyst added. “He’s betting on the company collapsing today after the scandal.”
I stood up. A sharp pain flared in my lower back, but I ignored it.
“He wants the stock to tank?” I said, a cold smile forming. “Then let’s disappoint him.”
“Arthur,” I commanded. “Draft a memo. Top secret. Eyes only for the Board. Subject: Project Phoenix. State that I have secured a private merger with Amazon closing at noon today.”
“But that’s a lie,” Arthur said. “That’s market manipulation.”
“It’s a barium meal test,” I said. “If he leaks it, we have him for corporate espionage.”
At 9:00 AM, the memo went out.
At 9:15 AM, our monitors showed Marcus Halloway downloading the file, encrypting it, and sending it to a reporter at the Financial Times. Then, we intercepted a call to his broker.
“Sell everything! She’s lying about the merger! Tank the price before noon!”
“Got him,” Arthur said. “Insider trading. Betrayal.”
I grabbed my coat. “Let’s go to the office.”
I walked into the boardroom at 10:30 AM. Marcus Halloway was sitting at the head of the table—my seat. He looked smug.
“Cassidy,” he said, standing up with a fake smile. “You shouldn’t be here. You look… exhausted. Think of the baby.”
“Get out of my chair, Marcus,” I said.
The room went silent.
“Excuse me?”
“I said, get out of my chair.”
I walked to the head of the table. He hesitated, then moved aside, chuckling condescendingly. “You’re emotional. We understand.”
“Yes,” I said, placing a folder on the table. “But you, Marcus? You are a catastrophe.”
I nodded to Arthur. He turned on the large monitor. The email chain with Brendan. The Cayman transfers. The recording of his call to the broker.
Marcus turned the color of old ash. “This… this is entrapment!”
“It’s justice,” I said. “You funded my husband’s affair. You stole from my father’s legacy. And you did it while pretending to be family.”
I turned to the security guards. “The FBI is waiting in the lobby. Escort him out.”
Two guards grabbed Marcus. He kicked and screamed, a dignified old man reduced to a tantrum.
As the doors closed, the room was silent. I looked at the remaining Board members. “Anyone else think I’m just a pregnant housewife?”
Silence.
“Good. Now let’s get back to work. We have a—”
Pop.
A rush of warm fluid soaked my skirt. A contraction hit me like a freight train, stealing the breath from my lungs. I gripped the mahogany table, my knuckles white.
“Cassidy?” Arthur stepped forward.
“Oh,” I whispered, looking down at the puddle on the carpet. “I think… I think I just broke the water.”
The irony wasn’t lost on me. Two days ago, Diane had thrown water on me. Today, my body was reclaiming the narrative.
They rushed me to Mount Sinai. Arthur held my hand the entire way.
There was no husband to coach me. No mother-in-law to take photos. Just me. And that terrified me.
“I can’t do it alone,” I cried out in the delivery room.
“You just fired the entire corrupt leadership of a Fortune 500 company,” Arthur said, wiping my forehead. “You are the strongest person I know. Decide.”
I decided.
At 2:42 PM, on a rainy Monday, Thomas Arthur Vanguard entered the world. He was loud, indignant, and perfect.
I had dropped the “Morrison.” My son would not carry the name of a thief. He would carry the name of a builder.
Six months later, I stood by the penthouse window, holding Thomas. The stock was at an all-time high. Elias Thorne had stopped calling.
I received a letter from Upstate New York that morning.
Cass,
I signed the papers. You have full custody. I won’t fight it. Mom is working at a bakery in Queens. She hates it. I’m sorry. Just… tell him I existed.
– B
I folded the letter and put it in a drawer. I wouldn’t burn it. One day, Thomas would read it and decide for himself.
I looked in the mirror. I didn’t see the scared girl from the coffee shop. I didn’t see the humiliated wife covered in dishwater.
I saw Cassidy Vanguard. Mother. CEO. Survivor.
They had tried to bury me. They didn’t know I was a seed.
“Ready to go, Boss?” Arthur asked from the doorway.
I stepped into the elevator, holding my son tight. “I’m ready.”
