Adrian didn’t raise the paddle again.

One minute passed.

Then two.

The auctioneer looked toward box eight.

—Forty-nine million two hundred and forty thousand. Going once.

Mia whispered frantically into Adrian’s ear.

He didn’t respond.

—Going twice.

The entire ballroom had gone silent.

Then my phone vibrated.

FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT:

“Mrs. Lancaster, all pending transfers authorized through Mr. Lancaster’s discretionary accounts have been suspended.”

Another message arrived.

“The $8 million Singapore transfer has also been canceled.”

Perfect.

I lifted my champagne glass.

—Sold!

The hammer fell.

Applause filled the room.

I had just purchased a necklace for an absurd amount of money.

But I didn’t regret a cent.

Because the expression on Adrian’s face was worth more.

He stood abruptly and disappeared from his box.

Less than thirty seconds later, my phone rang.

“HUSBAND.”

I declined it.

Again.

Declined.

Third time.

Declined.

Then a message appeared.

“Victoria, did you freeze my accounts?”

I typed:

“I’m at a charity event. We’ll talk when you’re back from Singapore.”

Three dots appeared immediately.

Then disappeared.

Appeared again.

Finally:

“Where are you?”

I didn’t answer.

The door of my box opened.

Adrian stood there.

His face was pale.

Mia was several steps behind him.

When Adrian saw me, he froze.

His eyes moved from my face to the auction paddle in my hand.

Then to the blue diamond necklace being carried toward me.

For once, Adrian Lancaster had absolutely nothing to say.

I smiled.

—Singapore seems much closer than I remembered.

Mia turned white.

—Sister Victoria…

I looked at her.

—Don’t call me that.

Her lips trembled.

Adrian recovered first.

—Victoria, let me explain.

—Please.

I gestured toward the empty chair.

—I’d love to hear how you attended a charity auction in Manhattan while simultaneously sleeping in a hotel in Singapore.

Several nearby guests had begun pretending not to listen.

Adrian lowered his voice.

—Not here.

—Why?

I looked toward Mia.

—Were you embarrassed when you bought my scholarship student a forty-four-million-dollar necklace?

—Nothing happened the way you think.

I laughed.

Of course.

The oldest sentence in the handbook of unfaithful husbands.

I opened my phone.

—Which part am I misunderstanding?

I showed him the photographs my assistant had collected.

Adrian entering hotels with Mia.

Mia leaving one of his apartments.

Transfers.

Jewelry receipts.

Trips.

A photograph of them kissing inside a private car.

His expression hardened.

Mia began crying.

—Victoria, please. I never wanted to hurt you.

I looked at her.

—Then you have extraordinary talent for accidental cruelty.

Adrian stepped between us.

Even now.

Even after being caught.

His first instinct was to protect her.

Something inside me became completely calm.

—Move.

—Victoria—

—Move away from her.

Perhaps he heard something in my voice, because he obeyed.

My lawyer’s message arrived.

“Agreement ready.”

I forwarded it to Adrian.

His phone vibrated.

He looked down.

Then his face changed.

—Divorce?

—Yes.

—You’re divorcing me because of this?

I stared at him.

—No, Adrian.

I gestured toward Mia.

—This only made me realize I should have done it sooner.

He grabbed my wrist.

—We’re going home.

I looked at his hand.

—Let go.

—You’re angry.

—I’m perfectly calm.

—Then stop behaving irrationally.

I almost admired his confidence.

He had spent nearly fifty million trying to buy another woman a necklace.

Yet somehow I was irrational.

I pulled my hand free.

—Do you know what you were supposed to receive tonight?

His eyes narrowed.

I continued.

—Eight million dollars.

His expression froze.

—The Singapore contract.

—Exactly.

—Victoria—

—Canceled.

He stared at me.

—You can’t cancel that transfer.

—Already did.

—Do you understand what you’ve done?

For the first time that evening, panic entered his voice.

—Without that deposit, Lancaster International breaches the acquisition deadline.

I smiled.

—Then perhaps your girlfriend can lend you the money.

Mia looked horrified.

Adrian lowered his voice.

—That contract is worth two billion.

—Then you should have prioritized it over jewelry.

I picked up my purse.

—Enjoy the rest of your evening.

I walked away.

Adrian didn’t follow.

He couldn’t.

His phone had already begun ringing.

By midnight, the Singapore transaction collapsed.

By eight the next morning, three lenders requested clarification regarding Lancaster International’s liquidity.

By ten, the board called an emergency meeting.

At eleven thirty, I entered Lancaster Tower.

Adrian was already there.

So was his father.

His mother.

Seven directors.

And Mia.

I stopped at the doorway.

—Why is she here?

Adrian’s father looked furious.

—That’s exactly what I’d like to know.

Mia sat beside Adrian with swollen eyes.

He stood.

—Victoria, whatever happens between us personally shouldn’t affect the company.

I placed my folder on the table.

—Agreed.

His shoulders relaxed.

Too soon.

—That’s why I’ve separated the two issues.

I opened the folder.

—Our divorce is personal.

Then I placed another document beside it.

—Your misuse of corporate resources is not.

The room became silent.

Adrian’s father took the document.

His expression darkened.

Company aircraft.

Corporate apartments.

Entertainment accounts.

Consulting payments.

Travel expenses.

More than twelve million dollars had been spent through entities connected to Mia over three years.

Adrian spoke immediately.

—Those were legitimate business expenses.

—Wonderful.

I looked toward Mia.

—Then she can explain her work.

Everyone turned toward her.

Mia went pale.

I asked:

—What exactly is your position at Lancaster International?

She opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

—Which department?

Silence.

—Who do you report to?

Still nothing.

Adrian slammed his palm against the table.

—Enough!

His father turned toward him.

—Sit down.

Adrian actually did.

That was when I realized how much the balance had already shifted.

My attorney distributed another document.

—Mrs. Lancaster currently controls fifty-three percent of voting shares directly and through the Bennett family trust.

Adrian’s mother gasped.

Adrian stared at me.

He had always known I was wealthy.

Apparently, he had never bothered to understand exactly how wealthy.

Or how much of his empire technically depended on me.

I looked around the table.

—Effective immediately, I am requesting an independent audit of all discretionary spending authorized by Adrian Lancaster during the last four years.

Adrian stood again.

—You can’t suspend me.

—I haven’t proposed suspension.

He relaxed for half a second.

Then I continued.

—Not yet.

His face darkened.

After the meeting, he followed me into my office.

The moment the door closed, his mask disappeared.

—What do you want?

I looked at him.

—A divorce.

—Besides that.

—Nothing.

—Don’t lie.

He paced toward the window.

—You froze my financing. You humiliated Mia. You brought company expenses before the board.

—You did those things yourself.

He turned.

—I made a mistake.

I shook my head.

—A mistake happens once.

I opened the evidence folder.

—This happened for three years.

His expression changed.

—I never planned to leave you.

That sentence almost impressed me.

—You think that makes it better?

—Victoria, Mia was—

He stopped.

—Was what?

Silence.

I waited.

Finally he said:

—She needed me.

I smiled sadly.

—And you enjoyed being needed.

He didn’t deny it.

My phone rang.

My assistant.

—Mrs. Lancaster, we discovered something during the preliminary audit.

Adrian looked at me.

I put the call on speaker.

—What?

—The payments to Ms. Chen weren’t the only irregular transfers.

Adrian’s face changed.

I noticed immediately.

—Continue.

—There is another company receiving funds from accounts controlled by Mr. Lancaster.

—How much?

—Approximately thirty-seven million over eighteen months.

I slowly looked at Adrian.

He had stopped moving.

—Who owns the company?

My assistant hesitated.

—We’re still tracing the beneficial owner.

Adrian suddenly reached for my phone.

I stepped backward.

That reaction told me more than any answer could.

—You know who owns it.

—Victoria, end the call.

—Who owns it?

—This has nothing to do with our marriage.

—Thirty-seven million dollars from a company I control has everything to do with me.

He stared at me.

Then my assistant spoke again.

—Mrs. Lancaster, we’ve just received the incorporation records.

I waited.

—The beneficiary is registered through a private trust.

—Whose trust?

Another pause.

—The records list Eleanor Lancaster.

I frowned.

Adrian’s mother.

But that made no sense.

Eleanor had her own fortune.

She didn’t need Adrian secretly transferring millions to her.

I looked at him.

—Why have you been sending money to your mother?

Adrian said nothing.

Then the office door opened.

Eleanor herself walked in.

Her eyes were red.

She closed the door behind her.

—He wasn’t sending it to me.

Adrian’s face went completely white.

—Mother.

Eleanor ignored him.

She looked directly at me.

—My name was used to hide the real beneficiary.

A cold feeling moved through me.

—Who?

Adrian stepped forward.

—Don’t.

His mother looked at her son.

Something in her expression was almost disgust.

Then she placed a photograph on my desk.

It showed Adrian outside a private clinic.

Beside him stood Mia.

But neither of them was what caught my attention.

Between them was a little boy.

Perhaps three years old.

Dark hair.

Gray eyes.

And around his neck was a miniature version of the Lancaster family crest.

My fingers went cold.

I looked at Adrian.

—Who is that child?

He didn’t answer.

Eleanor did.

—That’s why your husband has been transferring millions in secret.

I could hear my heartbeat.

—Who is he?

Eleanor’s next words made Adrian close his eyes.

—Mia’s son.

She paused.

—And according to the documents Adrian gave me three years ago…

he is also Adrian’s.