Chapter 9
I had underestimated Sophia.
Not her intelligence — she was as sharp as a butter knife — but her spite. Wounded pride could make anyone dangerous.
By noon, Victoria's story was everywhere. Social media, tabloids, financial news outlets. The headline screamed: "CONTRACT WIFE OR CORPORATE SPY? The Woman Who Infiltrated the Carter Empire."
My phone rang constantly. Board members panicking. Business partners wanting reassurance. My PR team working overtime.
I sat in my office, outwardly calm, reading through Sophia's "witness statement."
It was clever, I'd give them that. She claimed she'd "discovered" me having secret meetings with Carter Corp's competitors. That I'd been feeding them insider information throughout my marriage. That my "meek housewife" persona was an elaborate cover.
All lies. But lies wrapped around just enough truth to be believable.
I had met with business contacts during my marriage — for my own company's growth. Not for espionage.
But perception was a weapon, and Victoria wielded it well.
"What do you want to do?" Leo asked.
"Call Daniel Ashford. Tell him to accelerate the Blackwell file." I picked up my coat. "And set up a press conference for tomorrow morning."
"What are you going to say?"
I looked at him steadily. "The truth. All of it."
Leo's eyes widened. "Everything? Including your identity?"
"The world already knows I'm Mei Lin Zhao's daughter. What they don't know is the full story. My stepmother's fraud. The stolen will. Being sold into a contract marriage." I paused. "And Sophia's little habit of embezzling from her own charity foundation."
Leo blinked. "You have proof of that?"
"Three years in that house, Leo. I had nothing to do but watch and document." I pulled a flash drive from my desk drawer. "Every financial irregularity, every forged signature, every dollar that went to designer handbags instead of children's hospitals."
A slow grin spread across his face. "You terrify me sometimes, Ms. Zhao."
"Good." I grabbed my bag. "Now, I have a meeting."
Daniel was waiting at a quiet restaurant downtown. He stood when I arrived, pulling out my chair.
"I saw the news," he said. "Victoria's desperate. That means we're winning."
"We need to move faster." I slid into the seat. "Can you get the Blackwell evidence ready by tomorrow?"
"It's ready now." He studied my face. "You look tired."
"I'm fine."
"You're not." He reached across the table and for a moment, his hand hovered near mine. "You've been fighting alone for years. You don't have to anymore."
I looked at his hand, then at his face. The sincerity there was disarming.
"I barely know you," I said honestly.
"Then let me fix that." His eyes were warm, unguarded. "After this war is over. Dinner. A real one, not about strategy."
Despite everything, I felt a flutter — long dormant — somewhere beneath my ribs.
"Win the war first," I said. "Then we'll talk about dinner."
He smiled, and it transformed his face completely.
My phone shattered the moment.
Unknown number. I answered.
"Ashley." My stepmother's voice was ice. "Drop this foolish crusade, or I'll tell the world what really happened to your mother."
My blood froze. "What are you talking about?"
"Mei Lin didn't die of illness, dear." Helen's laugh was soft, venomous. "And I have the proof. Back off — or the world will know who really killed her."
The line went dead.
My hand trembled around the phone.
Daniel's expression shifted to alert concern. "Ashley? What is it?"
"My mother," I whispered. "Helen's claiming she was murdered."
Daniel's face went hard.
"Then we don't just need lawyers," he said quietly. "We need the police."
Not her intelligence — she was as sharp as a butter knife — but her spite. Wounded pride could make anyone dangerous.
By noon, Victoria's story was everywhere. Social media, tabloids, financial news outlets. The headline screamed: "CONTRACT WIFE OR CORPORATE SPY? The Woman Who Infiltrated the Carter Empire."
My phone rang constantly. Board members panicking. Business partners wanting reassurance. My PR team working overtime.
I sat in my office, outwardly calm, reading through Sophia's "witness statement."
It was clever, I'd give them that. She claimed she'd "discovered" me having secret meetings with Carter Corp's competitors. That I'd been feeding them insider information throughout my marriage. That my "meek housewife" persona was an elaborate cover.
All lies. But lies wrapped around just enough truth to be believable.
I had met with business contacts during my marriage — for my own company's growth. Not for espionage.
But perception was a weapon, and Victoria wielded it well.
"What do you want to do?" Leo asked.
"Call Daniel Ashford. Tell him to accelerate the Blackwell file." I picked up my coat. "And set up a press conference for tomorrow morning."
"What are you going to say?"
I looked at him steadily. "The truth. All of it."
Leo's eyes widened. "Everything? Including your identity?"
"The world already knows I'm Mei Lin Zhao's daughter. What they don't know is the full story. My stepmother's fraud. The stolen will. Being sold into a contract marriage." I paused. "And Sophia's little habit of embezzling from her own charity foundation."
Leo blinked. "You have proof of that?"
"Three years in that house, Leo. I had nothing to do but watch and document." I pulled a flash drive from my desk drawer. "Every financial irregularity, every forged signature, every dollar that went to designer handbags instead of children's hospitals."
A slow grin spread across his face. "You terrify me sometimes, Ms. Zhao."
"Good." I grabbed my bag. "Now, I have a meeting."
Daniel was waiting at a quiet restaurant downtown. He stood when I arrived, pulling out my chair.
"I saw the news," he said. "Victoria's desperate. That means we're winning."
"We need to move faster." I slid into the seat. "Can you get the Blackwell evidence ready by tomorrow?"
"It's ready now." He studied my face. "You look tired."
"I'm fine."
"You're not." He reached across the table and for a moment, his hand hovered near mine. "You've been fighting alone for years. You don't have to anymore."
I looked at his hand, then at his face. The sincerity there was disarming.
"I barely know you," I said honestly.
"Then let me fix that." His eyes were warm, unguarded. "After this war is over. Dinner. A real one, not about strategy."
Despite everything, I felt a flutter — long dormant — somewhere beneath my ribs.
"Win the war first," I said. "Then we'll talk about dinner."
He smiled, and it transformed his face completely.
My phone shattered the moment.
Unknown number. I answered.
"Ashley." My stepmother's voice was ice. "Drop this foolish crusade, or I'll tell the world what really happened to your mother."
My blood froze. "What are you talking about?"
"Mei Lin didn't die of illness, dear." Helen's laugh was soft, venomous. "And I have the proof. Back off — or the world will know who really killed her."
The line went dead.
My hand trembled around the phone.
Daniel's expression shifted to alert concern. "Ashley? What is it?"
"My mother," I whispered. "Helen's claiming she was murdered."
Daniel's face went hard.
"Then we don't just need lawyers," he said quietly. "We need the police."