Chapter 2

The next day, I go to Kane Holdings to quit.

The HR manager stares at my resignation form for a long time.

“Miss Hart,” she says carefully, “does Mr. Kane know about this?”

I shake my head.

“I’ll tell him myself.”

Her face goes pale.

People at Kane Holdings know better than to question anything linked to Dominic.

He is not just the CEO.

He is the Kane heir.

The man who can close a billion-dollar deal in the morning and order a traitor buried by midnight.

I sign the form anyway.

When I leave HR, I pass the long wall at the end of the hall.

Dominic’s business covers hang there in black frames.

“Ruthless.”

“Cold-blooded.”

“Untouchable.”

That is what the magazines call him.

But when I first meet him, he is not like that.

That night, Nora is dying.

I am at the clinic billing desk, begging them to give me one more day.

One more hour.

Anything.

Then the world spins, and I pass out on the floor.

When I wake up, the bill is paid.

Dominic sits beside my hospital bed in a black suit.

His face is sharp. His voice is calm.

“From now on, I’ll cover her medical costs.”

Then he looks at me.

“Claire Hart, stay with me.”

Back then, I have nowhere to go.

No money.

No family strong enough to protect me.

No right to say no to Dominic Kane.

So I stay.

I just never imagine that the money that saves my mother’s life will turn into the chain around my neck.

I pull my eyes away from the wall.

Then I sign the last exit document.

When I reach the lobby, the anniversary video is playing on the giant screen.

Dominic appears first.

Then there are photos of him at charity events and private dinners.

Mia is beside him in most of them.

I watch for a few seconds before I understand.

Every part that belongs to me is gone.

The merger plan I spent two months building is gone.

The medical partnership I helped close overseas is gone.

Even last year’s charity photo, where I stand beside Dominic as his wife, has been cropped in half.

Only my shoulder remains.

Like I was never there.

The last part of the video is the Annual Contribution Award.

My breath stops.

That project took me six months.

I slept in the office for half a month.

My stomach pain got so bad I had to live on painkillers and black coffee.

When the deal finally closed, Dominic said the award was mine.

No one else came close.

But now the name on the screen is Mia Blake.

The final line reads, “Thank you, Miss Blake, for standing beside Mr. Kane.”

Applause rises from the banquet hall.

I look over.

Mia stands beside Dominic in a silver-white gown.

That gown was sent by the designer for the wife of Kane Holdings’ CEO.

My gown.

On her chest is the emerald Kane crest pin.

Only the wife of the Kane boss wears that pin.

Mia holds Dominic’s arm and smiles as people raise their glasses to her.

Someone calls her “Mrs. Kane.”

She lowers her head like she is shy.

But she does not correct them.

Dominic frowns.

Mia sees it and pouts.

“Dom, baby, this is only day one. You promised I could be lady of the house for three days.”

Dominic looks down at her.

His voice is soft in a way it almost never is with me.

“Two days left.”

The people around them laugh and cheer.

Then someone sees me.

Their voice rises.

“Isn’t that Claire Hart?”

“She actually came?”

“Damn, she has nerve.”

“I heard she refuses to let go of the Mrs. Kane title.”

“Her sick foster mom’s bills, the houses, the money. Didn’t Mr. Kane pay for all of it?”

“The award went to Mia. How much clearer does he need to be?”

“Right? Everybody knows who Mr. Kane is backing now.”

I stop walking.

So this is what I am to them.

Not the woman who works.

Not the wife who stands beside him.

Not the person who gives everything until there is nothing left.

Just greedy.

Just a woman who sells herself for money.

I do not enter the banquet hall.

I turn and go to my office.

My handover files are ready.

Client lists.

Access accounts.

Project notes.

Every password. Every backup.

I give them to the girl taking over my work.

She looks at me with red eyes.

“Claire, are you really leaving?”

I smile.

“Yes.”

She glances toward the banquet hall.

Then she lowers her voice.

“Don’t take the award thing to heart. Anyone with eyes knows you deserved it more than Mia.”

I pause.

Before I can answer, Dominic’s voice comes from behind me.

“It’s just an award. You need to throw a fit over that too?”

I turn.

He stands at the door in a perfect black suit.

Cold face.

Clean hands.

Like he has never destroyed anything in his life.

I ask, “Did I say anything?”

Dominic looks at me.

“Your face says you’re unhappy.”

Mia is beside him.

She sees the resignation papers on my desk and covers her mouth.

“Oh my God. Mrs. Kane, are you quitting just because I got one little award?”

Dominic finally notices the documents.

His face drops.

“Claire Hart, what the hell are you doing now?”

“I’m not doing anything,” I say. “I’m serious.”

His eyes go colder.

“Mia is attending the gala for the first time. She just wanted to know what it feels like to be admired. I gave her the award for one night. Did you have to make it this big?”

He stops.

His voice turns even sharper.

“And as my wife, you should learn to be gracious.”

That word almost makes me laugh.

Wife.

What a joke.

“She wants my house, so I move out.”

My voice is calm.

“She wants my bracelet, so you rip it off my wrist.”

“Now she wants my work, and you give that to her too.”

I look straight at him.

“Dominic Kane, is that what you call a wife?”

His eyes harden.

“Don’t act like you’re so wronged.”

His voice is low.

Dangerous.

“You agreed to stay with me because I could save your foster mother. Don’t rewrite history.”

He steps closer.

“All these years, the money, the houses, the name. Which part of it did I deny you?”

Mia touches his arm.

“Forget it, Dom. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have taken the award…”

Her voice shakes just enough.

Perfect little act.

Dominic looks at me like the case is already closed.

“Claire, you dare quit today because you want to force me to bow my head.”

His mouth twists.

“But don’t forget. With one word from me, every arrangement at that clinic stops.”

I look at him quietly.

He still does not know.

There is nothing left for him to stop.

No machine.

No treatment.

No bill.

No heartbeat.

I pick up my bag and walk around them.

Dominic’s voice follows me.

“If you turn around now, I can pretend this little scene never happened.”

I keep walking.

My steps do not stop.