Chapter 10
The fallout from Naomi's miscarriage was swift and ugly.
Without a baby to anchor her claim on Marcus, Naomi pivoted. She went nuclear.
Within a week, she'd contacted three journalists, a gossip blog, and a business reporter. Her story: Marcus Lane, former CEO of Sterling Development, had committed financial fraud and his acquisition by Ashford Group was a hostile takeover motivated by a personal vendetta.
She named me. She named Kade.
*"Elena Voss has been in a relationship with Kade Ashford since before her divorce was finalized,"* she told the press. *"He bought Sterling to punish my partner at her request."*
The article dropped on a Tuesday morning.
Kade's publicist called at 7 a.m. I heard the conversation from the kitchen.
"It's tabloid garbage. Let it die." Kade's voice was flat.
The publicist apparently disagreed.
"Fine. Release a statement. 'Ashford Group's acquisition of Sterling Development was conducted through standard due diligence. All personal matters are private.' Nothing else."
He hung up and looked at me.
"Don't read the comments section."
I'd already read it. The comments were exactly what you'd expect.
*Gold digger jumped from one rich man to a richer one.*
*She probably planned this from the start.*
*Poor Naomi, she lost her baby and now her sister is destroying her life.*
Something hot and awful twisted in my gut.
"Elena." Kade's voice was firm. "Look at me."
I looked up.
"Those people don't know you. They don't know the truth. And in seventy-two hours, they'll have moved on to the next outrage."
"But the damage—"
"The damage is to Naomi and Marcus. Not to us. Every claim she makes about fraud — she's confirming it exists. She's backing herself into a corner."
He was right. By noon, Naomi's own statements had triggered an SEC inquiry into Sterling's books under Marcus's tenure.
By Wednesday, Marcus's lawyer had reached out to Kade's team, begging them to make it go away.
Kade declined.
"She handed me the justification I was waiting for," he told me that night. "I was holding the fraud card as insurance. Now it's public. My hands are clean."
"You planned for this," I said.
He didn't deny it.
"I planned for multiple outcomes. This was one of them."
"You're terrifying, you know that?"
"Only to people who've wronged you."
I looked at him — this man who'd restructured his entire acquisition timeline around protecting me, who slept on his own couch for weeks, who'd waited six years in silence.
"Kade."
"Yes?"
"I love you."
It was the first time I'd said it. His whole body went still.
Then he crossed the kitchen in two strides, lifted me onto the counter, and kissed me so thoroughly that I forgot about the article, the comments, Naomi, all of it.
"Say it again," he murmured against my mouth.
"I love you."
"Again."
"Kade—"
"Again, Elena."
"I love you, you obsessive, terrifying, beautiful man."
He pulled back and looked at me with an expression I'd never seen on him before. Open. Unguarded. Young.
"I've waited a very long time to hear that."
Without a baby to anchor her claim on Marcus, Naomi pivoted. She went nuclear.
Within a week, she'd contacted three journalists, a gossip blog, and a business reporter. Her story: Marcus Lane, former CEO of Sterling Development, had committed financial fraud and his acquisition by Ashford Group was a hostile takeover motivated by a personal vendetta.
She named me. She named Kade.
*"Elena Voss has been in a relationship with Kade Ashford since before her divorce was finalized,"* she told the press. *"He bought Sterling to punish my partner at her request."*
The article dropped on a Tuesday morning.
Kade's publicist called at 7 a.m. I heard the conversation from the kitchen.
"It's tabloid garbage. Let it die." Kade's voice was flat.
The publicist apparently disagreed.
"Fine. Release a statement. 'Ashford Group's acquisition of Sterling Development was conducted through standard due diligence. All personal matters are private.' Nothing else."
He hung up and looked at me.
"Don't read the comments section."
I'd already read it. The comments were exactly what you'd expect.
*Gold digger jumped from one rich man to a richer one.*
*She probably planned this from the start.*
*Poor Naomi, she lost her baby and now her sister is destroying her life.*
Something hot and awful twisted in my gut.
"Elena." Kade's voice was firm. "Look at me."
I looked up.
"Those people don't know you. They don't know the truth. And in seventy-two hours, they'll have moved on to the next outrage."
"But the damage—"
"The damage is to Naomi and Marcus. Not to us. Every claim she makes about fraud — she's confirming it exists. She's backing herself into a corner."
He was right. By noon, Naomi's own statements had triggered an SEC inquiry into Sterling's books under Marcus's tenure.
By Wednesday, Marcus's lawyer had reached out to Kade's team, begging them to make it go away.
Kade declined.
"She handed me the justification I was waiting for," he told me that night. "I was holding the fraud card as insurance. Now it's public. My hands are clean."
"You planned for this," I said.
He didn't deny it.
"I planned for multiple outcomes. This was one of them."
"You're terrifying, you know that?"
"Only to people who've wronged you."
I looked at him — this man who'd restructured his entire acquisition timeline around protecting me, who slept on his own couch for weeks, who'd waited six years in silence.
"Kade."
"Yes?"
"I love you."
It was the first time I'd said it. His whole body went still.
Then he crossed the kitchen in two strides, lifted me onto the counter, and kissed me so thoroughly that I forgot about the article, the comments, Naomi, all of it.
"Say it again," he murmured against my mouth.
"I love you."
"Again."
"Kade—"
"Again, Elena."
"I love you, you obsessive, terrifying, beautiful man."
He pulled back and looked at me with an expression I'd never seen on him before. Open. Unguarded. Young.
"I've waited a very long time to hear that."