Chapter 2

The private jet sliced through the clouds, but it wasn't fast enough. Every minute in the air was a minute my son was suffering under my own roof, a minute my husband was laughing in my face. The rage that had ignited in Tokyo was now a cold, hard diamond in my chest. I wasn't just a mother anymore, I was an avenger.

We landed at a private airfield in New York. A black car was waiting. "InnovateSphere headquarters, Manhattan," I told the driver. "And step on it."

I walked into the lobby of the building that bore my company' s name, a monument to my life' s work. The space was different, colder. The receptionist, a young woman with a bored expression, looked up from her phone.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her tone dripping with condescension. She didn't recognize me. Of course she didn' t. She was new. Hired by Matthew.

"I' m here to see Matthew Lester," I said.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"I don' t need one."

I started for the executive elevators, but she shot up from her chair, blocking my path. "I' m sorry, ma' am, but you can' t go up without clearance."

Just then, a familiar face appeared. David Chen, my CFO, a man who had been with me since the garage startup days. His eyes widened in shock, then relief.

"Gabrielle!" He rushed over, grabbing my arm and pulling me aside. "Thank god you' re here," he whispered, his voice urgent. "Things have gone crazy. Matthew… he' s lost his mind."

"I' m just getting started, David," I said, my voice low. I didn' t have time for warnings. I knew. I walked past the stunned receptionist and jabbed the button for the penthouse floor.

The elevator doors opened directly into the executive suite. My suite. The air was thick with the scent of a perfume that wasn't mine. I strode toward my corner office, the one with the panoramic view of the city I had conquered.

I pushed the door open without knocking.

And there they were.

Matthew was standing behind my desk, his hands wrapped around Maria Chavez' s waist as she sat in my chair, leaning back into his embrace. They were kissing, a slow, intimate kiss that spoke of long-practiced familiarity. They didn' t hear me at first.

"Get out of my chair," I said.

They sprang apart. Matthew' s face went white with panic. Maria, however, composed herself instantly, a smug, challenging look on her face.

"And who are you?" she asked, her voice silky smooth, as if I were the intruder.

Matthew scrambled, pushing Maria behind him. "Gabby! What are you doing here? I thought you were in Tokyo!" He gestured vaguely at Maria. "This is Maria Chavez, our new Executive Vice President of Operations. I hired her. She' s a genius."

"I' m sure she is," I said, my eyes locked on Maria.

Matthew, sweating now, tried to steer Maria out of the office. "Maria, why don' t you… go get us some coffee?"

He shut the door behind her and turned to me, his hands raised in a placating gesture. "Look, I can explain. It' s not what it looks like."

"It looks like you' re having an affair with an employee in my office."

"No! No, of course not!" He let out a nervous laugh. "Maria… she' s an old friend. My high school ex, actually. She fell on hard times, single mom, you know how it is. I hired her out of pity. I was just… comforting her."

I stared at him, letting the silence hang in the air.

"And the party?" I asked.

"A total misunderstanding!" he said, seizing on the new topic. "A two-for-one deal! I just let Ethan have a small celebration after Andrew' s main party. We used the same decorations to save money. Smart, right?"

He was a terrible liar. He always had been. I knew every tell, every flicker of his eyes, every bead of sweat. He was lying about everything.

I didn' t say another word. I just turned and walked out, leaving him standing alone in my office, his pathetic excuses echoing in the silent room. The company was just the first stop. Now, I was going home.