Chapter 2

The town hall was still in full swing when I kicked the door to the main conference room open. The heavy oak slammed against the wall, the sound echoing through the sudden, shocked silence.

Every head in the room swiveled towards me. On the stage, Ethan and Nicole were frozen, mid-embrace, a gaudy diamond ring sparkling on her finger under the spotlights.

"What is the meaning of this?" I asked. My voice was quiet, but it cut through the room like a blade.

Ethan recovered first, a practiced, charming smile sliding back onto his face. He stepped forward, arms open wide.

"Annie, darling! You're back! We were so worried. We were just celebrating some wonderful news."

I ignored his outstretched arms. My eyes were locked on Nicole. "Celebrating what? The theft of my company?"

A wave of murmurs rippled through the senior staff seated in the front rows.

"Theft?" Ethan laughed, a hollow, theatrical sound. "Honey, don't be so dramatic. You signed the transfer papers yourself before you left. You gave me control."

He snapped his fingers, and a junior legal aide scurried forward, handing him a document. He held it up for all to see.

"See? Your signature. Clear as day. You authorized the transfer of your controlling shares to me. A gesture of your love and trust."

I stared at the paper. I remembered it. He' d told me it was a simple authorization for a new equipment lease, something routine. I was so tired, so foggy, I' d just signed where he pointed. The exhaustion, the confusion… it wasn't just burnout.

"You drugged me," I said, the realization hitting me with sickening force.

Nicole finally spoke, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "Annabel, you were unwell. You weren't thinking clearly."

"Because you were poisoning me," I shot back, the pieces clicking into place. The "health" smoothies Ethan made me every morning. The ones Nicole always said were her special recipe for stress. "Every morning. In my smoothies. What was it? Sedatives?"

Nicole's mask of concern dropped, replaced by a triumphant smirk.

"It was for the best," she said, her voice cold. "You were holding the company back with your caution. And you were holding Ethan back. We're in love. This was the only way for us to be together and for the company to reach its true potential."

"True love?" I laughed, a raw, bitter sound. "You call this love? This conspiracy? This betrayal?"

Ethan stepped in front of Nicole, puffing out his chest. "It is love! A love you could never understand, Annabel. You were always married to your work, not to me. Nicole sees me. She values me."

He was a traitor, and she was a snake. And they were brazenly admitting it to my face, in front of my entire company.