I pushed past the stranger in the lobby.

"I don't need your help," I told him, marching straight for the glass doors. My mind was a singular, frantic loop. I needed my family.

The drive to the Thornton estate took twenty agonizing minutes. I burst through the heavy oak doors, ignoring the startled butler, and marched straight to my father's study.

"Look at this," I demanded, slamming my phone onto Arthur's mahogany desk.

The video played. Cedric's crude commands and Valora's breathless moans shattered the quiet elegance of the room.

Arthur Thornton didn't flinch. He calmly picked up his reading glasses, sliding them onto his nose. "Turn that vulgar noise off, Seren."

"It's Cedric," I said. My voice shook, but I forced my chin up. "And Valora Pierce. In my bed. I'm leaving him, Dad. I want to come home."

My mother, Eleanor, sat on the tufted leather sofa in the corner. She stirred her tea, the silver spoon clinking softly against the porcelain. "Don't be dramatic, darling."

"Dramatic?" I snatched the phone back, my fingers trembling. "I spent three years playing the perfect wife! I thought he would love me eventually. I gave him everything. I managed his life, I organized his galas, I secured his business deals. He just told his mistress I'm a sterile transaction!"

"He is right," Arthur stated.

The words punched the air out of my lungs. "What?"

Arthur folded his hands over his blotter. "You are a Thornton. Your marriage secured our European distribution networks. Did you think this was a fairy tale? Did you think we signed that contract for romance?"

"I thought I was your daughter!" I shouted, tears finally spilling over my hot cheeks. "I suffered his absolute coldness every single day. I kept up the appearances. I endured that empty penthouse. I secured the European route for Leo to manage! I spent my honeymoon negotiating with harbor masters so this family wouldn't lose its shipping monopoly!"

"And that is your duty," Arthur said, his tone flat.

"My duty was to be a partner, not a martyr!" I shot back.

"A wife supports her husband," Eleanor said, taking a delicate sip of her tea. "Valora is a phase. A plaything. You are Mrs. Montgomery. You hold the title. Act like it."

"He said he'd rather mutilate himself than touch me!" I screamed, the humiliation burning my throat. "He has been sleeping with her since the day after our wedding!"

Arthur stood up. He walked around the desk, his expression carved from stone.

*Smack.*

The strike snapped my head to the side. A sharp, burning sting blossomed across my left cheek.

Instead of crying harder, a hollow, dry laugh tore out of my throat. I touched my face, staring at the man who raised me. The sting grounded me, stripping away the last illusion I had about my place in this room.

"You selfish girl," Arthur hissed. He towered over me, his face turning a furious red. "Do you have any idea what a divorce will do to our stock prices? The Montgomery merger is the foundation of our quarterly earnings. The board will panic. You will ruin us!"

"He cheated on me!" I yelled back, tasting metallic blood on my inner lip. "He humiliated me!"

"Men cheat!" Eleanor snapped from the sofa. She slammed her teacup onto the saucer. "Your father had his indiscretions. I looked the other way. You will do exactly the same."

"I won't," I said, glaring at her. "I am calling Julian. I am filing the papers."

"If you file those papers," Arthur warned, his voice dropping to a dangerous register, "I will freeze your trust fund. I will blacklist Julian's firm. I will strip you of every credit card, every property, and every connection you have in this city. You will have nothing."

"You would destroy your own daughter to save a stock price?" I asked, nausea rolling through my stomach.

"I will protect this family from a rebellious child," Arthur corrected.

Eleanor stood up, smoothing down her silk skirt. "If you pull out of this marriage, Montgomery Enterprises tanks. Our shares plummet. You are not going to jeopardize Leo's future."

Leo. My younger brother. The golden boy who spent his days racing sports cars in Monaco while I sat in stuffy boardrooms securing his legacy.

"Leo gets the company, and I get sold to a monster?" I asked, my voice cracking into a whisper.

"Leo is the heir," Eleanor stated simply, devoid of any maternal warmth. "You are the bridge. Do not burn it."

Arthur pointed a rigid finger at the Persian rug. "Get on your knees."

I stared at his finger, then up at his face. "Excuse me?"

"Kneel," Arthur commanded, stepping closer. "You come into my house in the middle of the night, threatening to destroy our legacy over a bruised ego. Kneel and apologize for your insolence."

My legs trembled. The room spun slightly. I looked at my mother. She turned her head, examining a painting on the wall, refusing to meet my gaze. I looked back at my father. There was no warmth in his eyes. Just calculations. Profit margins. Assets and liabilities.

I was a liability. A piece of inventory trying to return itself to the warehouse.

I sank to the floor. The hard wood beneath the rug bruised my kneecaps. I stared at my father's polished shoes.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, the words tasting like ash.

"You will go back to that penthouse," Arthur dictated, staring down at me. "You will smile for the cameras at the charity gala tomorrow. You will never mention the word divorce again. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I lied.

I pushed myself off the floor. I didn't look at either of them as I turned and walked out of the study.

I didn't go back to the penthouse. I stumbled out the front doors of the estate. The night air was freezing, biting through my thin blouse, but the cold outside was nothing compared to the ice in my chest.

I walked for miles. The grand mansions of my neighborhood gave way to the towering skyscrapers of the city center, and finally, to the industrial stretch by the river. The city streets blurred into a smear of neon lights and dark shadows.

My phone buzzed relentlessly in my pocket. Julian. Cedric. My father.

I pulled the device out and threw it into a passing garbage truck.

I was a commodity. A walking bank account to Cedric. A bridge to my parents. A shield for Leo. I had no identity of my own. I was just a tool for everyone else to use and discard when they were done.

I reached the iron railing of the suspension bridge. Below, the black water of the river churned, violent and fast. The roar of the current filled my ears, drowning out the memories of Cedric's grunts and my father's slap.

I gripped the cold metal railing. The rust dug into my palms.

There was no home to return to. No family to protect me. No husband to love me.

I climbed onto the first rung. The wind whipped my hair across my face, stinging my eyes.

"Just end it," I muttered to the dark currents below.

I swung my right leg over the railing, shifting my weight forward into the empty air.

A strong hand clamped down on my shoulder.

The freezing black water swallowed me whole. The violent current ripped the air from my lungs, dragging me under. I fought, but the river was too strong. Then, a firm grip locked onto my arm.

Strong hands hauled me upward. I broke the surface, gasping as a man dragged me onto the muddy, rock-strewn riverbank.

I violently coughed up dirty water, my throat burning.

"Are you out of your mind?" a deep voice demanded over the roar of the river.

I blinked through the stinging wetness. The man from the lobby. Rowan.

"You," I choked out, shivering uncontrollably.

"Me," he confirmed, pulling out his phone. "Stay awake."

The harsh glare of fluorescent lights pierced my eyelids. I groaned, turning my head on a stiff pillow. Sterile white walls surrounded me.

Rowan stood at the foot of my hospital bed. He wore a dry, dark sweater now, his posture rigid.

"Seren Thornton," he stated, arms crossed. "Heiress to the Thornton shipping empire. Why did you jump off that bridge?"

My father's stinging slap flashed across my memory. *You will ruin us.* If Arthur found out I attempted suicide, he wouldn't just freeze my accounts. He would lock me away in some remote facility to hide the scandal.

"I didn't jump," I rasped.

Rowan raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You climbed an iron railing to slip?"

"It was dark. I lost my footing." I clutched the thin hospital blanket, pulling it up to my chin. "Please. Do not tell my parents."

He studied my face. The bruise on my cheek from my father’s backhand throbbed under his intense gaze.

"I won't call Arthur," Rowan finally agreed. "But I already called your husband."

My stomach dropped. "Why would you do that?"

"Because you are legally his responsibility," Rowan said, stepping away from the bed. "And he is right outside."

The door swung open before I could argue.

Cedric marched in. He didn't look frantic. He didn't look relieved. He looked utterly annoyed.

And he wasn't alone. Valora trailed right behind him, her manicured hand resting lightly on his bicep.

Rowan's jaw tightened. He shot Cedric a look of pure disgust, then silently exited the room, closing the door behind him.

"You couldn't even drown properly," Cedric sneered.

He tossed a thick manila folder onto my lap. It hit my legs with a heavy smack.

"Sign them," he ordered.

I stared at the bold black letters on the top page. *Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.*

"You brought her here?" I whispered, my voice trembling as I looked at Valora.

Valora offered a sickeningly sweet smile. "He goes where I go, Seren."

"I want out," Cedric stated, his tone flat. "I'm done pretending."

The walls of the hospital room suddenly rushed inward. The betrayal in my bed, my father's violent rejection, the freezing river, and now this. The monitors beside me began to beep frantically.

"You can't do this right now," I gasped, clutching my chest.

"Sign the papers, Seren," Cedric pushed.

Black spots danced across my vision. The beeping morphed into a continuous, deafening drone.

"Seren?" Cedric's voice echoed, sounding miles away.

Then, the world went completely dark.

I jolted awake. The sharp scent of antiseptic filled my nose.

Cedric and Valora were still there. Valora sat on the edge of my bed, leaning against Cedric's side. His arm wrapped securely around her waist, his fingers idly tracing her hip.

"Cedric, please," I begged, desperation clawing up my raw throat. "You can't do this. The merger. Our families rely on this union."

"Fuck the merger," Cedric interrupted. He kissed the top of Valora's head. "I already secured the European routes. I don't need your father's backing anymore."

"You used me to get to my family's assets."

"You were a convenience," he corrected. "A stepping stone."

Valora let out a dramatic, breathless sob. She buried her face in Cedric's chest, her shoulders shaking. "She ruined everything, Cedric. We were so in love. She bought you with her family's money."

"I didn't buy anyone!" I shot back, yanking the IV line taped to the back of my hand. "We signed a contract!"

"You stole him!" Valora cried, pointing a perfectly polished finger at my face. "You forced us apart for three years. I had to hide in the shadows while you paraded around as his wife. You stole my life!"

Cedric tightened his hold on her, shooting me a lethal glare. "It's over now, Val. I'm divorcing her. We're getting married."

My stomach violently churned. "My father will destroy your company."

"Your father cares about his quarterly earnings, not you," Cedric mocked.

Valora stood up. She walked to the side of my bed, looking down at me with cold, calculating eyes. The tears vanished instantly. Her expression hardened into a victorious sneer.

"Get on your knees," Valora commanded.

I stared at her, my mind stalling. "What?"

"Apologize to me for stealing my man," she demanded, her voice dropping to a vicious whisper. "Or I call a press conference right now. I'll tell the world the great Thornton heiress tried to kill herself because her husband couldn't stand the sight of her."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me," Valora challenged. She pulled out her phone, tapping the screen to bring up a contact list. "Your parents will love that headline. Unstable Heiress Plunges Stock Prices. How fast do you think Arthur will cut you off?"

My father's threat echoed in my skull. *I will strip you of every credit card, every property... You will have nothing.* If the scandal broke, Arthur would bury me. He would erase me from the family entirely.

"Do it, Seren," Cedric urged, his tone laced with absolute disgust. "Don't make this uglier than it already is."

I looked at the man I had served for three years. I had organized his life, smiled at his side, and built his empire. He watched me with the same detached emptiness he always had, only now, there was a cruel amusement dancing in his eyes.

My legs felt like lead. I shoved the thin hospital blanket aside.

My bare feet hit the cold linoleum floor. I swayed, my muscles screaming in protest. I held onto the edge of the mattress, forcing myself downward.

My knees hit the ground. The hard tile sent a shockwave of pain up my shins.

I kept my head down, staring at Valora's designer shoes.

"I'm sorry," I choked out. The words burned my tongue like hot coals.

Valora laughed. A high, ringing sound that mirrored the exact laugh I heard outside my bedroom door hours ago.

"Louder," she taunted.

"I'm sorry," I repeated, my voice hollow.

"Pathetic," Cedric muttered. He grabbed Valora's hand, pulling her toward the exit. "Let's go. Leave the papers. She'll sign them when she realizes she has no other choice."

Their footsteps retreated. The heavy door clicked shut.

I stayed on the floor, the chill of the tiles seeping into my bones. I had lost my marriage. I had lost my family. I had lost my dignity.

I slowly lifted my head.

Through the small rectangular window in the door, I saw a familiar figure standing in the corridor, watching me.

Rowan.

He pushed the door open and stepped back inside, holding a sleek black phone to his ear. His dark eyes locked onto my tear-stained face, burning with a dangerous intensity.

"Yes," Rowan said into the receiver, never breaking eye contact with me. "Initiate the hostile takeover of Montgomery Enterprises. I want Cedric Montgomery completely ruined by morning."