Chapter 9
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Nathan's lips curled into a cold smile. "Then we'll help her along. She'll sign whether she wants to or not."
The Turner family's influence ran deep, and once mobilized, their efficiency was terrifying.
Within days, an overseas company—seemingly unconnected to the Turners—extended an olive branch to the struggling Reed Corporation.
The deal promised enough profit to not only save the Reed family business but catapult it to new heights.
Victoria took the bait like a shark scenting blood, too eager to question her good fortune.
After several rounds of carefully orchestrated "tough" negotiations, the terms were settled, and signing day arrived.
The signing ceremony was lavish, with press from major outlets in attendance.
Nathan and I watched from the adjacent room through high-definition monitors.
Victoria wore a tailored power suit, her makeup flawless, radiating confidence as she smiled for the cameras.
Her assistant handed her a thick stack of documents.
She skimmed the key clauses, nodded with satisfaction, and began signing each flagged page with practiced flourish.
She never noticed that after the final page of the main contract, another document had been seamlessly inserted.
My divorce agreement.
She was signing so rapidly, so drunk on her impending triumph, that she never bothered to read the title of that particular page.
Her pen glided across the paper.
"Victoria Reed" appeared in perfect script on the signature line for Party B of the divorce agreement.
It was done.
On screen, she set down her pen, stood, shook hands with our representative, and beamed for the cameras as flashes lit up the room.
She thought she'd conquered the world, reached the pinnacle of success.
She had no idea she'd just signed away both me and the Reed family's future with her own hand.
That night, I photographed the signed divorce papers and emailed them to her private account.
The originals would be delivered by courier the next morning.
Minutes later, my new phone rang—unknown number, but I knew exactly who it was.
I answered to hear Victoria's panicked voice: "What the hell is this?!" Her voice cracked with hysteria. "Why was there a divorce agreement in the contract? Did you set me up?!"
"It's there in black and white. You signed it yourself." My voice remained perfectly level.
"It doesn't count! This is fraud! I had no idea what I was signing!" She was practically incoherent, desperate to escape the consequences.
"Legally, it's binding," I stated flatly. "We're even now, Victoria."
"No! We're not!" She was nearly screaming, her voice raw with panic.
"Ethan, I was wrong! I know that now!"
"I have the shares now! The company is mine! Come back—you don't have to play the fool anymore! Come back as the real Mr. Reed! We can—"
"Victoria," I cut through her desperate rambling, my voice like ice, "don't you get it, even now?"
"I don't want any of it."
"You, the Reed family, your pathetic fortune—I never wanted any of it."
"We're divorced. Stop calling me. It's pathetic."
Silence stretched across the line.
Then came the sound of her complete breakdown—harsh, ugly sobs that tore from her throat.
I ended the call and blocked this number too, my face a perfect mask.
This time, it was truly over.
