Chapter 3 - The Eleven-Week SecretThe murmurs rippled through the crowd like wind through dry grass. Investigation? Embezzlement? Federal subpoenas?
Ryan spun around, looking at the high-society investors and board members who had been slapping him on the back just ten minutes earlier. But every single one of them had stepped back, putting physical distance between themselves and the man who was financial poison.
"That’s a lie!" Ryan screamed, losing his composure entirely, his face twisting into an ugly mask of panic. He pointed a shaking finger at Luca, then at my father. "You people... you’re trying to ruin me! You can't do this! I am a pillar of this community!"
My father finally spoke. His voice was low, gravelly, and carried the weight of decades of absolute dominion over the underworld.
"You were a guest in our lives, Ryan," my father said softly, stepping closer until he stood towering over my ex-husband. "You forgot something very important when you married my daughter. You thought you were marrying an orphan with a nice trust fund. You forgot that blood remembers."
Ryan shrank back, his breathing turning shallow and rapid. He looked at me, desperation clawing at his voice. "Isabella... please. We’re married. We’re husband and wife! Tell them to stop this!"
I stopped walking a few feet away from him, my expression entirely devoid of pity. I reached into the small clutch bag hanging from my wrist, pulled out a thick legal document encased in a protective plastic sleeve, and tossed it casually onto the white-clothed table beside us. It slid across the surface and bumped against an untouched glass of champagne.
"We haven't been husband and wife for nearly three months, Ryan," I said quietly.
Ryan stared at the document, paralyzed. Slowly, with shaking fingers, he reached out and picked it up. He squinted at the header through his panic.
Decree of Dissolution. Superior Court of New York. Filed eleven weeks ago.
"Eleven... eleven weeks?" Ryan whispered, his mind unraveling in real-time. "No... that's impossible. You never served me. You never filed..."
"I filed it the day after I found out about Vanessa," I said smoothly. "My legal team processed the paperwork while you were busy buying her that crimson dress. We kept it quiet because, as you so eloquently told Vanessa in your hotel suite this afternoon, you still needed the marriage for the board of investors."
Vanessa gasped, whipping her head around to stare at Ryan. "You... you told her you were going to divorce me after the earnings report? You lied to me too?!"
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"Shut up, Vanessa!" Ryan snapped, his veneer of sophistication completely shattered. He looked back at me, tears of sheer rage and terror pooling in his eyes. "You manipulated me! You let me walk around thinking I was winning, letting me dig my own grave!"
"I didn't dig your grave, Ryan," I replied, my voice as cold as ice. "I just gave you enough rope. You tied the knots all by yourself."
