Chapter 1 - THE FAMILY WAITING UPSTAIRS
“I certainly wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
Chloe Mercer’s polished smile never reached her eyes. She stood behind the black marble reception counter beneath three crystal chandeliers, looking over Vivienne Sterling’s beige coat as if she had found something unpleasant on the floor.
Six-year-old Sophia pressed against Vivienne’s left hip, clutching the handmade necklace she had spent all afternoon creating. The beads were mismatched, the paper hearts uneven, and the silver glitter had already rubbed onto her pink dress.
“Daddy’s going to wear it during his speech,” Sophia whispered.
Vivienne squeezed her daughter’s hand. “We came to surprise Dominic.”
Around them, the lobby of the Halston Grand shimmered with champagne glasses, black tuxedos, and evening gowns. Dominic’s company logo glowed across a digital wall near the staircase. Vivienne had never attended one of his corporate galas. Dominic always said spouses made the investors uncomfortable.
Chloe slowly folded her arms.
“This event is reserved for executives, invited VIPs, and immediate family.”
“I’m his wife.”
The contempt in Chloe’s expression sharpened.
“The executive vice president is already upstairs.”
Sophia lifted the necklace toward the staircase, her face brightening.
Chloe extended one arm, blocking their path.
“With his wife,” she added.
Vivienne stopped moving.
Chloe allowed the silence to widen before delivering the rest.
“And their son.”
Nearby conversations quieted. A waiter paused with a tray balanced against his palm. Several guests glanced away too late to pretend they had not been listening.
Vivienne stared at Chloe. “What did you say?”
“I assumed someone would have told you.” Chloe leaned closer, lowering her voice only slightly. “They’re celebrating together tonight. The merger announcement, the new board, the future of the company. You arriving like this makes things awkward.”
Sophia tugged at Vivienne’s sleeve.
“Mommy?”
Vivienne looked toward the staircase.
Dominic stood halfway up beneath a gold railing, dressed in a black tuxedo. Beside him was a blonde woman in a silver gown, one hand resting lightly on his arm. A brown-haired boy of about ten stood close to them.
They looked arranged.
Not accidentally close. Not like colleagues caught in conversation.
Like a family posing for a photograph.
Dominic saw Vivienne.
His face emptied.
The blonde woman followed his stare. Her champagne glass tilted in her hand.
Sophia’s necklace slipped from her raised fingers and swung against her wrist.
“Where’s Daddy?” she asked, her voice breaking.
Dominic did not come down.
That hurt more than the woman beside him.
Vivienne knelt and gently covered Sophia’s ears. Her daughter stared at her, confused and frightened, but allowed herself to be pulled close.
When Vivienne stood again, Chloe was smiling.
“You should leave before security has to escort you out.”
Vivienne opened her handbag and removed her phone.
Chloe gave a small laugh. “Calling someone to pick you up?”
Vivienne pressed one number.
Victor answered after a single ring.
“Viv.”
Her third brother’s voice was calm, but she heard the immediate alertness beneath it.
Vivienne kept her eyes on Dominic.
“Take away everything he thinks he owns.”
Victor did not ask what had happened.
“I’ve already started.”
Dominic finally moved. He descended three steps before stopping again, as if he could not decide which version of his life he needed to protect first.
The blonde woman pulled her hand away from him.
“Dominic,” she whispered. “Who is that?”
Sophia slipped free of Vivienne’s hand before Vivienne could stop her.
“Daddy!”
Her voice carried through the entire lobby.
Dominic flinched.
He looked at his daughter, then at the investors watching him, and made the choice Vivienne would remember for the rest of her life.
He stayed on the staircase.
“Security,” Chloe called.
Vivienne stepped in front of Sophia.
“No one touches my daughter.”
The two guards approaching from the elevators slowed. One recognized the Sterling name when Vivienne gave it. The other looked toward Dominic, waiting for instructions.
Dominic came down the remaining steps.
“Vivienne, let’s handle this privately.”
“You had a private life. Apparently, I wasn’t part of it.”
The blonde woman reached the bottom of the staircase behind him.
“My name is Meredith Cole,” she said. Her face had gone pale. “Dominic told me his wife was dead.”
Chloe’s smile disappeared.
Sophia began to cry.
Vivienne gathered her daughter into her arms as Dominic looked from one woman to the other, stripped of every prepared explanation.
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Outside, black sedans were pulling beneath the hotel canopy.
Victor had arrived.
