When the cold water hit me, nothing around me paused.

That was the worst part.

The glasses still sparkled. The music kept playing. Lillian kept laughing like it was all just a joke.

The bucket wasn’t just ice—it was murky water, clearly saved for this moment.

Cold ran from my scalp down my spine.

I placed my hand over my stomach as my baby kicked sharply, reacting to the shock.

Virex Holdings wasn’t Marcus’s company.

It was mine.

I was the majority owner, hidden behind a trust my grandmother had set up years ago.

“Are you okay?” he asked immediately.

I looked straight at Marcus.

“Activate clause nine.”

Silence.

“That will freeze everything,” Daniel warned.

“Do it.”

I ended the call.

They had no idea what was happening.

Clause Nine wasn’t revenge.

It was protection—for moments when trust was broken beyond repair.

Two years earlier, I met Marcus during a private audit.

Without my title, without my name, I saw people as they truly were.

Marcus seemed different.

Easygoing. Respectful. Safe.

For the first time, I believed someone could love me without knowing what I had.

So I kept my identity hidden.

At first, Lillian dismissed me as “ordinary.”