Three Hours Earlier
Chapter 02 - Three Hours Earlier
Three hours earlier, Lena had still believed the evening might end with a conversation instead of a fall.
She stood in the penthouse bedroom fastening one silver earring while Grant adjusted his tie in the mirror. Downstairs, Carter Holdings was hosting a private charity gala. Grant had spent months preparing for it because Mason Carter, the reclusive chairman, was expected to announce a new chief operating officer.
Grant wanted the position with the hunger of a man who believed titles could forgive character.
“You should wear the blue dress,” he said without looking at her. “The cream one makes you look tired.”
Lena kept fastening the earring. “I am tired.”
He finally met her reflection. “Then try not to look it.”
There had been a time when such a sentence would have shocked her. Now it simply joined the collection.
She found the first proof of Sienna an hour later. A message preview appeared on Grant’s tablet while he showered: Tonight she signs. Then we celebrate upstairs.
Lena did not open the conversation. She photographed the preview with her phone and searched the desk instead. Beneath a folder of gala schedules, she found divorce papers, a transfer agreement, and a statement authorizing Grant to sell shares he did not own.
Her name was already signed.
The signature was close enough to fool a stranger.
Not close enough to fool her.
Lena carried the papers into the living room. The city beyond the windows had turned blue with evening. The bouquet Grant sent that morning sat on the table, suddenly less like an apology and more like stage decoration.
When he emerged, she held up the forged page.
“What is this?”
Grant’s eyes moved to the signature, then back to her face. He did not ask where she found it. He did not pretend confusion.
He sighed.
That sigh told her everything.
“You were never supposed to see it before the announcement,” he said.
“What announcement?”
The private elevator chimed.
Sienna stepped into the penthouse wearing champagne satin and Grant’s certainty.
Lena looked from one to the other.
May you like
Grant closed the folder.
“The announcement,” he said, “that my life is finally moving forward.”
