But they didn’t know that yet, and I needed to keep it that way.

I tapped out a reply with a shaking thumb.

*You think you’ve won.*

I set the phone down on the granite counter and grabbed the broom from the pantry.

As I swept the sharp fragments of glass into a neat pile, the plan solidified in my mind.

I needed Ethan to sign that debt disclosure tomorrow morning.

If he thought he had the upper hand, he would be reckless and overconfident.

Greed was his greatest weakness, and I knew exactly how to feed it.

***

The morning sun was sharp and cold against the glass of the high-rise office building in Manhattan.

I sat in a low leather chair opposite my attorney, Marcus Vance.

The room smelled of expensive paper, wood polish, and stale air conditioning.

Marcus was sorting through a thick stack of manila folders on the mahogany table.

“Are you sure about this, Sophia?” Marcus asked, looking over his reading glasses.

“Yes,” I said. “He needs to think I am desperate and defeated.”