The Wife He Auctioned

Chapter 3-The Siege

Sunday morning crashes into my bedroom at 6 AM when Elias pads in, dragging his stuffed elephant. "Mama, hungry."

I've slept exactly forty-seven minutes. The rest of the night was spent staring at my ceiling, cataloging every threat, every angle, every way this could go catastrophically wrong.

"Pancakes?" I pull him into bed, breathing in his apple shampoo scent.

"With choc'late chips?"

"With chocolate chips."

In the kitchen, I'm cracking eggs when my phone explodes. My father's name flashes across the screen.

"What have you done?" His voice is wrecked.

"Cassian called me at three in the morning.

He's pulling all funding from Voss Airlines.

Calling in every loan. We have thirty days to repay $340 million or he'll force us into bankruptcy."

The whisk slips from my hand. "He can't..."

"He already did! Legal notice came at 6 AM."

Papers rustle frantically. "I sold you to save this company. You've destroyed it anyway.

Was your revenge worth killing your family's legacy?"

The line goes dead.

I stand frozen while my son hums at the table.

My phone buzzes: Margaret Chen, my lawyer.

Emergency. Cassian filed an injunction to freeze your assets. Hearing tomorrow morning. Call immediately.

Then Simone: Check your hotel email. Problems.

I open my laptop while pancakes burn. My hotel email has 247 unread messages.

Subject lines that make my stomach drop: RESIGNATION EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.

Twenty-three resignations. Key staff, all jumping ship in twelve hours.

"Mama, pancakes burning."

I flip smoking pancakes onto a plate, drown them in syrup. My phone rings again. Unknown number.

"What?"

"Mrs. Steele. Marcus Okafor. We met last night when I bid $200,000 on you."

The hedge fund manager. "What do you want?"

"To offer my services. I own 7% of Steele Enterprises. You're discovering that owning shares and wielding influence are different things, yes?"

"Why would you help me?"

"Because Cassian has made enemies.

Because Daria Chen is worse. And because you just proved you're the most interesting player on the board." He pauses. "Also, I will profit considerably if Steele Enterprises implodes. Your chaos serves my interests."

"What do you want in return?"

"Vote with me tomorrow when Daria calls her emergency board meeting. Block her takeover. In exchange, I'll teach you how to survive."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you walk into that boardroom alone.

Daria has nine board members. Cassian has seven. You're the tiebreaker." He lets that sink in. "You have until noon to decide."

He hangs up.

I'm processing this when someone knocks.

Three sharp raps.

Through the peephole: Cassian.

He's wearing jeans and a sweater, looking like he hasn't slept. Hair disheveled, none of his usual armor.

I open the door, the chain still engaged. "It's not 10 AM."

"I know. Please. Five minutes."

Against every instinct, I let him in.

His eyes find Elias immediately. He stops breathing.

Elias looks up, chocolate smeared on his cheeks. "Who that?"

"A friend. Finish your pancakes."

Cassian takes three steps closer, then stops.

"He looks like my mother," he whispers.

"Same eyes..."

"You wanted me to abort him."

"I was terrified." His voice cracks. "I saw every way I could fail..."

"Stop." I move between him and Elias. "You don't get to explain away three years with trauma."

He pulls an envelope from his jacket with shaking hands. "The loan recall on Voss Airlines. I'm canceling it. Your father will receive notice this afternoon."

I stare at the signed document. "Why?"

"Because you're right. About all of it." He glances at Elias, longing naked on his face.

"I'm asking you to let me try to be better."

"Mama! Look! Elephant!" Elias holds up his drawing.

I praise his artwork, use the moment to steady myself. When I turn back, Cassian is wiping his eyes.

"There's something else. Daria's been working with Marcus Okafor for six months.

They're planning to split the company. She gets CEO control, he gets asset liquidation rights."

My blood chills. "Marcus just called me. Offered to be my ally."

"He's lying." Cassian shows me text messages: casual discussions between Marcus and Daria about strategy, "the Voss woman" like I'm a problem to solve.

I read the messages, stomach sinking. Plans to discredit me, force a buyout.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Because tomorrow, you have to choose. Side with me and save the company. Side with them and watch it burn. Or sell your shares and walk away."

Elias tugs Cassian's jeans. "You're tall."

Cassian crouches, hands trembling. "You're very artistic."

"I draw elephants. Want to see?"

I watch my ex-husband follow my son to the kitchen table, trying to figure out how to talk to a three-year-old. He's terrible at it, but he's trying.

My phone buzzes. Simone: Marcus just left a meeting with Daria. Very cozy.

I text back: Dig deeper. Find who else is involved.

"Cassian." I interrupt his elephant conversation. "Who benefits most if Steele Enterprises collapses?"

He thinks. "Six months ago, someone bought $400 million in credit default swaps against us. Betting we'd fail. Routed through shell companies in the Caymans."

"Your Cayman accounts."

"Exactly. Whoever bought those swaps has been inside my financial system for months."

The pieces click. "Daria's been embezzling for five years. She knows your system. She could have sold information to outside investors."

"She's been planning this for years," Cassian breathes.

My phone rings. Margaret: "The injunction hearing tomorrow? Judge Harold Petersen."

"Meaning?"

"Daria Chen's uncle."

After she hangs up, I tell Cassian, "I need you to leave."

"Whatever you decide tomorrow, I'll respect it." He pauses at the door. "You've earned that right."

After he leaves, I call Simone. "I need everything you have on Daria Chen."

I spent Sunday building my case. Margaret sends legal briefs. Simone delivers damning files. By midnight, I have a strategy.

I'm checking notes when my laptop pings. New email from an address I don't recognize: SteeleEnterprises_Legal_Archive

Subject line: CONFIDENTIAL: Original Daria Chen Employment Contract

I opened it. A scanned document, seven years old. Daria's original employment agreement. Standard until page twelve, a clause buried in legal jargon about intellectual property rights.

Then the signature page. A handwritten note in the margin: Project Horizon acquisition strategy, estimated value $2.3B. Initial concept developed by D. Chen, June 2018.

Project Horizon. The deal that made Steele Enterprises global. The acquisition Cassian built his reputation on.

Daria developed it and she signed away all rights to it.

I'm staring at the document when my apartment door

explodes inward.

The door slams against the wall. Elias screams from his bedroom.

Standing in my doorway, backlit by hallway light, is Daria Chen.

She's holding a gun.