The 33rd Time

Chapter 3 Blind Arrogance and Stolen Credits

Morning light came through the penthouse blinds. My head hurt from whiskey and too little sleep. The divorce agreement lay on the marble coffee table.

I read Serena's signature, tore the page into quarters, and dropped the pieces into the fireplace. She had threatened to leave before. She always came back.

At the office, I tasted the coffee Chloe had left on my desk and spat it back into the cup. It was bitter and scalding. Serena had always known the temperature and the exact amount of sugar.

I dropped the cup into the wastebasket and opened the Project Nightingale proposal. It had no color-coded tabs or Serena's margin notes predicting objections. The pages held data with no plan.

Serena had handled those details so quietly that I had stopped counting them as work.

"Did you prepare this?" I snapped at Chloe.

Her smile faltered. "I did, Adrian. Just like you asked."

Before I could say more, my CFO, Marcus, came through the door without knocking. Sweat darkened his collar.

"Adrian, our primary operating accounts are frozen. Thirty million dollars is gone."

I waved a dismissive hand. "It's a technical glitch, Marcus. Or Serena, playing one of her games. It will be resolved by lunch."

"The trust holder recalled the funds. We can't make a payment."

Chloe moved Marcus's report aside and put a new file in front of me.

"I stayed up all night reworking Nightingale. I think I found a way to improve our leverage." The Cartier necklace I had bought her last week rested above her collar.

The new proposal had sharp analysis, an aggressive strategy, and every key point highlighted the way I liked.

"This is brilliant." I pushed the earlier draft away.

My senior partner, Peterson, read over my shoulder. "The structure is remarkably similar to Serena's work."

Chloe's eyes filled. "I found an old draft of hers in the digital recycling bin. It was a mess, so I salvaged it. Why would she want credit for something she threw away?"

Of course Serena had left a draft where Chloe could find it. Another trap, I decided.

I put an arm around Chloe. "That's enough. You did incredible work."

I took out my phone to order Serena back to the office. Before I could call, *Heinrich Vance*, the lead investor from Zurich, appeared on the screen.

"Heinrich. Good to hear from you."

"Save it, Adrian. We're pulling out. The deal is off."

"What? Why?"

"Your strategy depended on the silent signature guarantee from your financial benefactor. It was withdrawn an hour ago. We will not fund the deal without it."

He hung up.

*Silent signature guarantee. Financial benefactor.* I had never seen either phrase in our financing documents.

I called Serena and nearly dropped the phone.

An automated message answered.

*"The number you have dialed is no longer in service."*