Chapter6
1010 Words
Chapter Six: The Leak
POV: Jeremy Sanchez
“You never realize you’ve lost control until the people beneath you start moving the pieces.”
---
Stella was too quiet.
It wasn’t the kind of silence that came from giving up, it was the silence of strategy. Of calculation. That unnerving, heavy quiet that usually preceded a storm.
And I had the sick feeling I wasn’t going to like what came next.
---
The morning started normally enough. I entered the kitchen to find her reading something on her tablet, dressed in soft gray and navy, her hair loose over one shoulder.
She didn’t look up when I came in.
I poured a cup of coffee and took the seat across from her. “How was your meeting yesterday?” I asked.
She scrolled. “Informative.”
I watched her fingers move. “Anything I should know about?”
She looked up slowly, her expression unreadable. “Not yet.”
Then she stood and left the room. No fight. No sarcasm. No dramatic exits.
Just distance. That was worse.
---
I waited until she left for her midday appointment, something she didn’t tell me about and called Peter.
“I need to see you,” I said.
“Already at the office,” he replied. “Should I send for the lawyer?”
I hesitated. “Yes.”
---
An hour later, I stood in the glass conference room at Sanchez Holdings, staring out over the skyline. Peter leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching me like I was the problem he couldn’t solve.
“You’ve gone quiet,” he said.
“So has she.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That bad?”
“She’s not even fighting anymore. That’s what makes it dangerous.”
Peter walked over and poured a glass of water. “You think she’s planning something?”
“I know she is.”
“Could be guilt.”
“She doesn’t do guilt,” I replied. “She does precision.”
He let out a low whistle. “Remind me not to marry someone smarter than me.”
The door opened, Douglas Reeves, my lawyer, entered with his usual overpriced suit and a folder tucked beneath one arm.
“Jeremy,” he greeted, offering a firm handshake. “Peter.”
Peter gave a curt nod. “Let’s get to it.”
Douglas sat down and opened the folder, flipping through the documents as I circled to the other side of the table.
“I need to see the original draft of the prenup,” I said.
Douglas blinked. “I thought we’d locked that document months ago.”
“We did,” I said, “but apparently the copy Stella signed wasn’t the original.”
Peter watched him closely. “What did you change?”
Douglas hesitated just a beat too long.
“There were a few line edits,” he said. “Language clarifications. Nothing substantial.”
“Don’t play dumb,” I snapped. “Was the clause about the heir in the original version or not?”
Douglas looked down, then slowly pulled out a sheet of paper.
“The original draft included two provisions,” he said. “One was about the heir. The other was about a full transfer of Sanchez shares in the event of divorce without cause.”
My stomach dropped.
“I had the second clause removed,” I said, trying to remember.
“Yes,” Douglas replied carefully. “But it wasn’t reflected properly in the version she saw.”
Peter straightened. “So she signed a contract that gives her part of the company if she walks?”
“Technically,” Douglas said. “Yes.”
I backed away from the table.
“Does she know?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” Douglas replied. “But if she’s started digging, it’s only a matter of time.”
---
After Douglas left the room, Peter waited until the door shut behind him.
“This isn’t just about a baby anymore, is it?”
“No,” I said, staring out the window. “It’s about control.”
Peter scratched his jaw. “You need to shut this down, Jeremy.”
“How?”
“Cut off whoever’s feeding her information.”
“I don’t even know who it is,” I said.
Peter hesitated. “Then maybe you should start with the guy she met at the café.”
My head snapped toward him. “Kelvin?”
Peter nodded. “I’ve had our guy track him since the day you saw them together.”
“You’ve been watching him?”
“Of course. You wanted information. I got it.”
“And?”
“He’s been calling a private investigator in London. Twice in the past week. Guess who the PI used to work for? A firm that specializes in corporate prenup breaches.”
I swore under my breath.
Peter stepped closer. “She’s not just trying to walk. She’s trying to take something when she does.”
I rubbed my jaw, heart racing. “Then we stop her.”
Peter gave me a sharp look. “You sure that’s what you want?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you married her thinking she’d be easy to control. Then you fell for the performance.”
I didn’t reply.
Because the silence answered for me.
---
That night, I returned home later than usual.
The house was dark except for the hallway lights and a single lamp in the living room.
I walked in, loosened my tie, and looked toward the stairs.
She wasn’t there.
But the study door was cracked.
I stepped toward it.
Then paused.
Her voice echoed faintly from inside.
“I’m not bluffing, Kelvin. If he wants a war, he’ll get one.”
I closed my eyes. She wasn’t just preparing to leave. She was preparing to win.
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Jeremy confirms that Stella’s prenup gives her unexpected power. Now she’s working with Kelvin and she’s preparing for full-scale war.
- Writer
