Chapter 1 - The Blueprint of Ruin
Harrison Cole did not offer false comfort.
He did not offer meaningless platitudes.
Instead, he pulled a blank legal pad from his top drawer.
He uncapped a silver fountain pen.
“We are not going to simply divorce him, Khloe.”
His voice was a low, steady rumble.
“Divorce implies a division of assets. A negotiation.”
He looked up, his dark eyes locking onto hers.
“We are not negotiating with a thief.”
Khloe wiped a stray tear from her cheek.
“He hid everything, Harry.”
“He thinks he hid everything.”
Harrison corrected her effortlessly.
“Richard is a developer. He builds things meant to be seen.”
He tapped the pen against the mahogany desk.
“He leaves trails because his ego requires a massive footprint.”
Khloe placed her hand over her stomach.
Her baby kicked, a soft flutter of life amidst the wreckage.
“What do we do?”
“You do exactly what he expects you to do.”
Harrison leaned forward.
“You go home.”
“You smile.”
“You act like the oblivious, pregnant wife he thinks you are.”
Khloe shivered at the thought of sleeping next to him.
“I can’t look at him, Harry. I’ll be sick.”
“You will look at him, Khloe.”
Harrison’s tone left no room for argument.
“You will look at him and you will remember that every day you play the fool, I am tightening a noose around his entire life.”
He slid a stack of documents toward her.
“Tomorrow morning, you are going to a private wealth manager I trust.”
“We are setting up a blind trust in your maiden name.”
“Every piece of jewelry he ever bought you.”
“Every piece of art in that house that isn't bolted to the wall.”
“We are having it quietly appraised and insured.”
“He is going to try to serve you with papers before the baby is born.”
Harrison’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.
“I want him to try.”
Khloe took a deep breath.
The terrified woman who had walked into the office was slowly fading.
The sister of Harrison Cole was taking her place.
“What about Vanessa?”
Khloe tasted ash when she said the name.
Harrison wrote a single word on the legal pad.
Vanessa.
Then he drew a hard, black line straight through it.
“She is an interior designer heavily leveraged in his commercial projects.”
“She thinks she is marrying a billionaire.”
May you like
Harrison smiled, and it was a terrifying thing to witness.
“I am going to make sure she marries a ghost.”
