Chapter 4: The Offer
The news hit Cross Industries like a satisfying.
Sterling Media had quietly purchased thirty percent of Cross Industries' outstanding debt from three different creditors. Overnight, I became one of Daniel's biggest financial threats.
His board panicked. His stock dipped four percent before noon.
By 2 PM, my assistant informed me that Daniel was in our lobby, demanding to see me.
I let him wait forty-five minutes.
When I finally walked into the meeting room, Daniel was pacing like a caged animal. His tie was loosened, his hair disheveled—so different from the polished man at last night's gala.
"What the hell are you doing, Ava?" he said the moment the door closed.
I sat down across from him, crossed my legs, and folded my hands.
"Business," I said simply.
"This isn't business. This is revenge."
"Is it?" I tilted my head. "Prove it."
He slammed his palms on the table. "I'll fight this. You think the Sterling name scares me? I built Cross Industries from—"
"From your father's money," I interrupted calmly. "Let's not rewrite history, Daniel."
His face twisted. That vein in his forehead—the one that used to appear right before he punched walls—pulsed visibly.
"What do you want?" he said through gritted teeth.
"I want you to sit down," I said. "And listen."
He sat. Reluctantly, angrily, but he sat.
"Here's what's going to happen," I said. "I'm not going to call your debt immediately. I'm not a monster."
Relief flickered across his face.
"Instead," I continued, "I'm going to watch. Every decision you make, every deal you sign—I'll be there. Watching. And the moment you slip, the moment you make one wrong move…" I leaned forward. "I'll bury you."
Daniel's throat bobbed as he swallowed. "You've changed."
"No," I said. "I just stopped pretending to be less than what I am."
I stood up, straightened my blazer, and walked to the door.
"Oh, one more thing," I said, hand on the handle. "Tell Lily to stop posting about her 'perfect life with the love of her life' online. It's embarrassing. Everyone knows Cross Industries is bleeding money. The designer bags aren't fooling anyone."
I walked out and left him sitting there.
Back in my office, I found an enormous bouquet of roses waiting on my desk. The card read: *"To the most impressive woman in the room last night. Dinner? —N.R."*
I didn't recognize the initials, but my assistant's eyes were the size of saucers.
"Ms. Sterling, that's from Nathan Reed."
Nathan Reed. Tech billionaire. Forbes top ten. Notorious recluse.
I set the card aside.
I had more important things to focus on than mysterious dinner invitations.
That evening, Lily called me from a new number.
"Ava, please," she said, and I could hear tears in her voice. "Why are you doing this to Daniel? To us? I thought you said you were happy to walk away."
"I was happy to walk away from the marriage," I clarified. "I never said I forgave you."
"But I'm pregnant! Think about the baby—"
"Funny," I said. "When I was married to Daniel, I desperately wanted children. He told me I was the problem. He told everyone I was barren. Turns out, I'm perfectly healthy. He just never touched me unless he was drunk."
Silence on the other end.
"You knew that, didn't you, Lily?" I continued. "You knew he was cruel. And you wanted him anyway."
"He's different with me—"
"Is he?" I asked softly.
The silence stretched longer this time.
"If he ever raises a hand to you," I said, "don't call me. I won't help. But I'll say I told you so."
I hung up.
It wasn't a bluff. I'd seen the signs—the way Daniel gripped Lily's arm too hard at the gala, the way she flinched when he raised his voice in the meeting room.
Men like Daniel didn't change. They just found new targets.
But that was Lily's problem now.
I had bigger enemies to crush.
Starting with the Bennett family—the people who bought a stolen child and raised her as their servant.
Sterling Media had quietly purchased thirty percent of Cross Industries' outstanding debt from three different creditors. Overnight, I became one of Daniel's biggest financial threats.
His board panicked. His stock dipped four percent before noon.
By 2 PM, my assistant informed me that Daniel was in our lobby, demanding to see me.
I let him wait forty-five minutes.
When I finally walked into the meeting room, Daniel was pacing like a caged animal. His tie was loosened, his hair disheveled—so different from the polished man at last night's gala.
"What the hell are you doing, Ava?" he said the moment the door closed.
I sat down across from him, crossed my legs, and folded my hands.
"Business," I said simply.
"This isn't business. This is revenge."
"Is it?" I tilted my head. "Prove it."
He slammed his palms on the table. "I'll fight this. You think the Sterling name scares me? I built Cross Industries from—"
"From your father's money," I interrupted calmly. "Let's not rewrite history, Daniel."
His face twisted. That vein in his forehead—the one that used to appear right before he punched walls—pulsed visibly.
"What do you want?" he said through gritted teeth.
"I want you to sit down," I said. "And listen."
He sat. Reluctantly, angrily, but he sat.
"Here's what's going to happen," I said. "I'm not going to call your debt immediately. I'm not a monster."
Relief flickered across his face.
"Instead," I continued, "I'm going to watch. Every decision you make, every deal you sign—I'll be there. Watching. And the moment you slip, the moment you make one wrong move…" I leaned forward. "I'll bury you."
Daniel's throat bobbed as he swallowed. "You've changed."
"No," I said. "I just stopped pretending to be less than what I am."
I stood up, straightened my blazer, and walked to the door.
"Oh, one more thing," I said, hand on the handle. "Tell Lily to stop posting about her 'perfect life with the love of her life' online. It's embarrassing. Everyone knows Cross Industries is bleeding money. The designer bags aren't fooling anyone."
I walked out and left him sitting there.
Back in my office, I found an enormous bouquet of roses waiting on my desk. The card read: *"To the most impressive woman in the room last night. Dinner? —N.R."*
I didn't recognize the initials, but my assistant's eyes were the size of saucers.
"Ms. Sterling, that's from Nathan Reed."
Nathan Reed. Tech billionaire. Forbes top ten. Notorious recluse.
I set the card aside.
I had more important things to focus on than mysterious dinner invitations.
That evening, Lily called me from a new number.
"Ava, please," she said, and I could hear tears in her voice. "Why are you doing this to Daniel? To us? I thought you said you were happy to walk away."
"I was happy to walk away from the marriage," I clarified. "I never said I forgave you."
"But I'm pregnant! Think about the baby—"
"Funny," I said. "When I was married to Daniel, I desperately wanted children. He told me I was the problem. He told everyone I was barren. Turns out, I'm perfectly healthy. He just never touched me unless he was drunk."
Silence on the other end.
"You knew that, didn't you, Lily?" I continued. "You knew he was cruel. And you wanted him anyway."
"He's different with me—"
"Is he?" I asked softly.
The silence stretched longer this time.
"If he ever raises a hand to you," I said, "don't call me. I won't help. But I'll say I told you so."
I hung up.
It wasn't a bluff. I'd seen the signs—the way Daniel gripped Lily's arm too hard at the gala, the way she flinched when he raised his voice in the meeting room.
Men like Daniel didn't change. They just found new targets.
But that was Lily's problem now.
I had bigger enemies to crush.
Starting with the Bennett family—the people who bought a stolen child and raised her as their servant.