Chapter 3

The man on the other end let out a low laugh.

"Name it. I'd hand you all of Wall Street if you asked."

"What do you need?"

My voice turned ice-cold.

"I want Thorne Enterprises to go into financial freefall within a month."

Over the next few days, Stellan didn't show his face.

He probably assumed I was somewhere scrambling to save my firm, ready to come crawling back any second.

He had no idea.

I'd already sold my stake in the firm for a fortune and quietly taken over all of Sinclair Group's North American legal operations.

That afternoon, I'd just finished a meeting at Sinclair Tower when my phone rang.

The vet clinic.

"Ms. Kensington, something's happened to your cat!"

My heart seized.

I drove straight to the clinic.

I pushed through the door to find Snowball lying on the operating table, blood matting her white fur, barely breathing.

The vet's hands were covered in blood, his face grim.

"Ms. Kensington, she was beaten with a blunt object. Internal damage. We did everything we could."

My mind went blank.

Snowball was a birthday gift from my parents.

She'd stayed with me through countless sleepless, lonely nights.

My hands trembled as I stroked her bloodstained fur.

Snowball struggled to open her eyes one last time, looked at me, and then stopped breathing.

"Who did this?"

My voice came out hoarse.

The vet sighed and pulled up the security footage from outside.

On the screen, Faye stood in oversized sunglasses, gripping a golf club.

Behind her, a bodyguard dragged Snowball out of her carrier.

Faye didn't hesitate.

She swung the club down hard, over and over.

When Snowball finally stopped moving, Faye kicked her in disgust.

"Stupid animal thought it could scratch me? Should've known its place."

She turned to the bodyguard.

"Toss it on the street. Don't let Stellan see this mess."

I stared at the screen, my nails digging into my palms until I couldn't feel them anymore.

I pulled out my phone and called the police.

Half an hour later, officers escorted me to what used to be my home.

The door swung open.

Faye was curled up in Stellan's arms.

When she saw the cops, she let out a shriek and hid behind him.

"Stellan, I'm scared."

Stellan stepped in front of her, his face dark with fury as he glared at me.

"Ines, what the hell is wrong with you now?"

"Bringing cops to my home? Are you trying to humiliate me?"

I looked at him coldly.

"Faye is under investigation for destruction of property and animal cruelty. I'm pressing charges."

Stellan froze for a second, then laughed in disbelief.

"Over that worthless cat?"

"Ines, are you out of your mind? It's a cat. It's dead. I'll buy you ten more if you want."

"Faye is pregnant. She can't handle this kind of stress. Get the hell out of my house. Now."

I stared at the man in front of me.

He felt like a stranger.

"That cat was mine. My parents gave her to me."

"What did she do to deserve being beaten to death?"

Faye peeked out from behind Stellan, tears streaming down her face.

"Ines, stop lying."

"The cat went crazy and tried to claw my stomach. I was protecting the Thorne heirs. It was self-defense."

"Do you really value an animal over the lives of our children?"

Stellan's expression turned vicious. He lunged forward and raised his hand.

The slap echoed through the room.

Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth, and my ears rang.

Stellan pointed at me, shaking with rage.

"Ines, how twisted are you?"

"You can't have children, so you use a damn animal to try and kill mine?"

"If anything happens to Faye's babies, you'll pay with your life."

The officers immediately stepped forward and pulled Stellan back.

"Mr. Thorne, calm down. You just assaulted someone in front of law enforcement. We can arrest you for that."

Stellan didn't even flinch. He straightened his cuffs with a cold smirk.

"Arrest me? The Police Commissioner answers my calls. I'm disciplining my wife. You think you can arrest me?"

He turned back to me, his eyes full of warning.

"Ines, I'm giving you one last chance."

"Drop the charges. Get on your knees and apologize to Faye."

"Or I'll make sure you never work in this city again."

I wiped the blood from my mouth and looked at the two of them with complete calm.

The rage had burned out, leaving only clarity.

"Stellan, that slap just severed the last thread between us."

"You want children?"

"Then I hope you have a beautiful family together."

I turned to the officers.

"I've submitted the surveillance footage. I'm pressing charges."

I walked out without looking back.

Behind me, Stellan's voice exploded into the night.

"Ines! Don't you dare walk out that door!"

"If you leave, you're never coming back!"