Three days after my wedding, my MIL humiliated me in front of the entire family because I refused to serve my 25-year-old SIL. “You’re nothing but a low-class, uneducated girl. Didn’t your mother teach you how to serve your betters?” she sneered. I calmly dumped the expensive meat into the trash and asked, “Are her hands broken?” Then I packed my suitcase and walked out. My husband stayed behind. But days later, one phone call from my MIL made me realize the dinner had never really been about food…

By seven the next morning, I was sitting in the high-rise office of Sarah Lin, my father’s lifelong attorney and my most trusted ally.

Sarah dropped a thick ledger onto the glass desk between us, her face grim. "I ran a deep audit on Vance Global Enterprises the moment you called me last night, Eloan. It’s worse than you thought."

"How bad?" I asked, sipping my black coffee.

"They are forty million dollars in default to a private equity firm," Sarah said, tapping a red line on the spreadsheet. "The Georgetown mansion is mortgaged to the hilt. Calliope’s trust fund was liquidated eight months ago to cover Evangeline’s credit lines. The only reason they haven't been forced into involuntary bankruptcy is because they told their creditors that Thane was marrying the sole heir to the Sterling Waterfront Estate."

A cold, bitter laugh escaped my throat. "They used my father's memory as collateral."

"They forged your preliminary consent signature on a loan application two weeks before your wedding," Sarah added, her eyes flashing with anger. "The papers Evangeline wants you to sign today aren't routine. They would legally transfer full power of attorney over your estate directly to Thane."

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed with a text from Thane: I’m outside your mother’s house. Please, Eloan. Just talk to me.

I stood up, adjusting the lapels of my cream blazer. "Keep those audit reports ready, Sarah. It’s time I go collect my things."

Twenty minutes later, I pulled up to my mother’s driveway. Thane was standing beside his sleek sports car, clutching a massive bouquet of red roses, looking sleep-deprived and pathetic.

As I stepped out of my car, he rushed forward, his arms open. "Eloan! Thank God. Look, I’m so sorry about yesterday. Mom was out of line, okay? But you know how she gets! She’s under a lot of stress—"

"Save it, Thane," I said, stepping back so his hug caught empty air. "Did you know about the forty million dollar debt?"

Thane froze. The roses in his hands sagged slightly. "What... what are you talking about?"

"Did you marry me because you loved me, or because your mother told you that my father's land was the only thing standing between your family and a federal indictment for loan fraud?"

His face drained of all color. "Eloan... please, it’s not like that! We were going to tell you! Once the deal went through, we would have paid your estate back with interest! We’re a family now! What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours—"

"What’s mine stays mine," I interrupted, stepping close enough to look into his empty, cowardly eyes. "I’m filing for an immediate annulment on the grounds of fraud. And if your mother so much as breathes in my direction again, I’ll hand this audit to the Securities and Exchange Commission."

I turned toward my car, but Thane grabbed my wrist—hard.

"You can't do this!" he hissed, his desperate facade crumbling into ugly malice. "You're my wife! You think you can just walk away from us?! My mother will destroy your reputation in this city before sunset!"