Chapter 2 - The Sable Coat
I turned my attention to the woman standing frozen beneath the chandelier. Ava Sinclair looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming freight train. The smug, victorious smirk she had worn just three minutes earlier had completely evaporated, replaced by the terrifying realization that she had tethered herself to a sinking ship.
"Take the coat off, Ava," I commanded, projecting my voice with the absolute authority of a woman who owned the ground she stood on.
"Bennett, do something!" Ava shrieked, clutching the plush white sable tighter to her chest, her carefully constructed elegance shattering into a desperate, high-pitched whine.
Bennett was entirely useless. He was staring at the legal document in his hand, hyperventilating as his brain furiously tried to calculate a way out of a trap that had already snapped shut around his neck.
I nodded to the two towering security guards flanking the concierge desk. They stepped forward instantly, closing the distance between themselves and my husband's mistress.
"Ms. Sinclair," the head of security said, his voice a low, threatening rumble. "Remove the stolen property immediately, or we will physically remove it for you."
Tears of sheer, humiliated panic welled in Ava's eyes. Trembling violently under the intense, judgmental stares of hundreds of wealthy guests, she unbuttoned the coat and let it slide from her shoulders. A security guard caught the sable before it hit the floor, folded it with practiced reverence, and placed it gently over my luggage cart.
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"Now," I said, stepping closer to Ava until she was forced to look me in the eye. "You have exactly five minutes to walk out those revolving doors before I have you arrested for possession of stolen property and corporate espionage. The diamonds on your wrist were purchased with embezzled funds. I suggest you run before the police arrive."
Ava didn't look at Bennett. She didn't ask him for help. She realized instantly that the billionaire lifestyle she had eagerly plotted to steal was completely, permanently gone. She turned on her heel, pushed through the heavy revolving doors, and sprinted out into the freezing city rain, abandoning the man she supposedly loved without a single backward glance.
