I had just given birth when my husband looked me in the eye and said, “Take the bus home. I’m taking my family to hotpot.” Two hours later, his voice was shaking on the phone: “Claire… what did you do? Everything is gone.”

of a trembling hand, and I reached for my phone on the bedside table.

There were two specific contacts saved in my directory that Daniel knew absolutely nothing about, simply because he had never possessed the curiosity or the respect to inquire about my life before him.

The first was my lead corporate attorney.

The second was the private, unlisted number for my late father’s executive office.

I dialed the attorney first.

“Claire?” Martin answered on the second ring, his voice warm and professional. “Is the baby here?”

“Yes,” I whispered, my voice hardening into steel. “And Daniel just abandoned us at the hospital to go eat dinner.”

The line went dead silent for five agonizing seconds.

When Martin finally spoke, the warmth was entirely gone. His tone was razor-sharp, the voice of a man who destroyed corporations for a living. “Do you want to proceed with the contingency plan?”