Apollo recovered from his shock in a fraction of a second. His dark eyebrows pulled together, and a flash of pure disgust crossed his face.

"Where the hell is security?" Apollo's voice was a low, dangerous growl. "How did a woman without a membership get in here?"

Erna didn't blink. She didn't slow down. She walked right past the staring heirs and socialites, straight to the massive glass coffee table in front of him.

Brynlee shrank back against the sofa cushions, pressing her shoulder into Apollo's arm. She crossed her hands over her chest, her eyes wide like a frightened deer.

Erna stopped. She looked down at Apollo. There was no warmth left in her gaze, no pleading, no tears.

She raised the stack of papers in her hand and slammed them down onto the tempered glass.

Smack.

The sound echoed like a gunshot in the silent room. The crystal whiskey glasses on the table rattled against each other.

Several people in the room gasped. Brynlee let out a tiny, dramatic shriek.

Apollo stared at the bold word DIVORCE printed at the top of the document. The muscles in his jaw ticked. His pupils contracted.

Then, he leaned back against the leather sofa and let out a dark, mocking laugh.

"What's the number this time, Erna?" Apollo sneered, crossing his arms. "Ten million? The penthouse in Manhattan? What's the price for your exit?"

"Flip to the last page," Erna said. Her voice was completely flat. "Look at the asset division clause."

Apollo's eyes narrowed. He grabbed the papers with a look of utter contempt and flipped to the back.

His eyes scanned the text. Then, his mocking smile froze.

The clause clearly stated she was taking nothing. She will waive all division of jointly owned property between spouses and leave with nothing.

He looked up at her, his expression twisting into suspicion. He was searching her face for the trick, convinced this was just a new psychological game.

Erna ignored him. She shifted her gaze to Brynlee, who was still clinging to Apollo's side.

"I didn't say anything bad about you, Erna, I swear-" Brynlee started, her voice trembling.

"Save the pathetic acting for someone who buys it," Erna cut her off. Her voice was like crushed glass. "It makes me sick to look at you."

Apollo shot up from the sofa. He stepped in front of Brynlee, shielding her with his broad body.

"Watch your mouth," Apollo roared, his chest heaving. "Don't act like a rabid dog just because your scam failed."

Erna looked at his protective stance. A year ago, that would have shattered her. Now, it just felt ridiculous.

She reached into her coat pocket, pulled out her phone, and lit up the screen. She held it up for the entire room to see. It was an electronic NYPD police report receipt.

"I filed an official police report two hours ago regarding the drugged drinks and the leaked private photos from last night," Erna announced, her voice ringing clear across the room.

The temperature in the suite plummeted. The faces of the people who had been at the party turned stark white.

Apollo's face darkened into a storm of fury. "Are you threatening the Cherry family with the police?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"The police will find out exactly who put the drugs in that glass," Erna said calmly, putting her phone away.

She looked at Apollo one last time. She looked at him like he was a stranger on the subway.

Erna turned on her heel. The hem of her cheap trench coat flared out behind her.

She didn't say another word. She walked out of the suite, her footsteps steady and echoing down the hall.

Apollo stood frozen in the center of the room. He stared at the divorce papers that asked for absolutely nothing, a sudden, inexplicable panic clawing at the inside of his throat.

Erna pushed through the side doors at the end of the carpeted hallway and stepped out onto the semi-open terrace.

The late autumn wind of New York hit her face, carrying a mist of freezing rain. The physical shock of the cold helped cool the burning anger in her head.

Rapid footsteps echoed behind her.

"Erna! Wait!"

Sterling pushed the heavy glass door open, panting as he jogged onto the terrace.

Erna stopped. She turned around and stared at the man who used to be her closest friend at Columbia University.

Sterling reached into the inner pocket of his tailored suit and pulled out a neatly folded check. He stepped forward and tried to press it into her hand.

"Take this," Sterling whispered, glancing nervously back at the door. "It's enough for a decent apartment in Brooklyn. Just drop the police report, Erna. Please."

Erna looked down at the piece of paper. A heavy wave of disgust rolled through her stomach.

She took a step back, refusing to touch it. "You only play the good guy when no one is watching, Sterling."

Sterling's face flushed red, then went pale. "You know how it is! I can't go against the Cherry family in public. I'd be ruined in Manhattan."

"Keep your money," Erna said, her voice dripping with contempt. "I don't need your cowardly pity."

Before Sterling could respond, the terrace door creaked open again.

Brynlee stepped out into the freezing rain. She was wearing a thin silk evening gown, her bare shoulders shivering violently in the wind.

Her eyes were red-rimmed. She hurried over to Erna and reached out to grab the sleeve of Erna's trench coat.

Erna yanked her arm back violently, as if Brynlee's touch was toxic. "Back off."

Brynlee's face crumpled into a mask of pure devastation. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

"Please, Erna," Brynlee sobbed, her voice cracking perfectly. "Don't bring the NYPD into this. The scandal will tank Apollo's company stock. You can't do this to him."

Erna let out a dry, humorless laugh. "You don't give a damn about Apollo's stock. You're just terrified the cops will find out what you really did, and your perfect socialite image will burn to the ground."

A flash of genuine panic darted through Brynlee's eyes, but it was gone in a millisecond, buried under a fresh wave of tears.

Brynlee took a sudden step forward. Her high heel scraped loudly against the wet, slippery tiles of the terrace.

Using the momentum, Brynlee threw her upper body backward in a dramatic, exaggerated arc. She crashed hard into a large ceramic planter resting on the edge of the terrace.

Crash.

The thick ceramic shattered. Wet dirt and sharp shards exploded across the floor. Brynlee let out a blood-curdling scream and collapsed into the muddy puddle.

Erna stood perfectly still, watching the pathetic performance. She didn't even have the energy to roll her eyes.

Heavy, frantic footsteps thundered from the hallway. Apollo burst onto the terrace, his eyes wild.

He instantly saw Brynlee sitting in the mud, blood trickling down her pale arm from a scrape caused by the broken ceramic.

Apollo's face contorted in rage. He sprinted over and dropped to his knees, pulling Brynlee carefully into his chest.

"It wasn't her fault," Brynlee choked out, burying her face in his shirt. "I just... I lost my balance."

The classic manipulation worked perfectly. Apollo's head snapped up. His eyes locked onto Erna, burning with a murderous hatred.

"You're not just a liar," Apollo roared, his voice vibrating with fury. "You're a violent psychopath!"

Sterling stood frozen to the side, his head ducked down, too terrified of Apollo's wrath to speak a single word in Erna's defense.

Erna looked at the three of them. Her three-year marriage was a grotesque joke.

She kept her spine straight. She didn't take a single step back. She met Apollo's furious glare and let a cold, mocking smile spread across her lips.

Apollo handed the sobbing Brynlee over to Sterling. "Get her inside and find a medic," he ordered, his voice tight with rage.

Sterling nodded frantically, supporting Brynlee's weight as they disappeared back through the glass doors.

The terrace was empty except for Erna and Apollo.

The freezing rain beat down on the broad shoulders of Apollo's custom suit. He took a slow, menacing step toward Erna.

His towering height and the dark, violent shadow over his face made him look like a predator closing in for the kill.

Erna didn't retreat. She stood her ground near the edge of the terrace's decorative wading pool, staring blankly at the man who had once promised to protect her with his life.

Apollo stopped inches from her face. "If you leak a single word of that police report to the press," he hissed through his teeth, "I will make sure you don't survive in New York."

Erna let out a short, sharp laugh. The sound was entirely devoid of fear.

"I am sick to my stomach of your pathetic money and this disgusting circle of people," Erna said, her voice slicing through the rain. "Do whatever you want."

The absolute disdain in her eyes pierced straight through Apollo's massive ego.

In his damaged mind, Erna was a parasite who needed him to survive. How dare she look at him like he was the dirt beneath her shoes?

Blind rage hijacked his brain. Apollo's hand shot out. His large fingers clamped violently around the collar of her trench coat.

He twisted the fabric, pulling it tight against her throat.

Erna's airway was instantly crushed. She gasped, her hands flying up to claw at his wrist, desperately trying to pry his iron grip away.

A stark red line began to form on the pale skin of her neck.

Apollo stared down at her struggling face. Suddenly, without warning, a fragmented image exploded behind his eyes.

It was the same face. But she was smiling, her eyes full of soft light, her arms wrapping lovingly around his neck.

A blinding, agonizing pain spiked through Apollo's temples. It felt like a steel spike being driven into his skull.

He let out a low groan of agony. But the muscle spasm in his arm caused his grip on her collar to tighten even further.

Black spots danced in Erna's vision. Her lungs burned for air. Driven by pure survival instinct, she dug her fingernails deeply into the sensitive skin of his wrist, drawing blood, while simultaneously lifting her boot and stomping down as hard as she could on Apollo's expensive leather shoe.

Apollo cursed in pain, the dual shock of the sharp scratches and the crushing weight on his foot breaking his focus. His reflex was instant. He threw his arm out, shoving her violently away.

The massive force threw Erna entirely off balance.

Her feet slipped on the wet tiles. She tipped backward, her body flipping over the low stone edge of the decorative pool.

Splash.

Erna slammed into the freezing water. The icy shock paralyzed her lungs. Water rushed into her nose and throat.

As she fell, the side of her forehead cracked sickeningly against the hard mosaic tiles lining the pool's edge.

A blinding flash of white pain erupted in her skull. Her vision blurred. A dark ribbon of red blood immediately began to bloom in the clear water around her head.

Apollo stood at the edge of the pool. He pressed the heel of his hand hard against his throbbing temple, his breathing ragged.

He looked down at her thrashing in the water, the blood staining the surface. His twisted logic told him this was just another one of her extreme, manipulative acts to gain his pity.

He stared down at her bleeding in the freezing water.

"Disgusting," Apollo spat, his voice devoid of any human emotion.

The word pierced the surface of the water and hit Erna's ears. It was the final spark that ignited the absolute madness and rebellion buried deep inside her bones.