“Inside that folder,” Victoria stated coldly, looking down at him as if he were an insect, “are the official, immediate termination papers from your brokerage firm—a firm my holding company formally acquired at midnight. You are fired for gross moral turpitude and suspicion of embezzlement. Also enclosed are your fault-based divorce papers, citing financial infidelity and reckless endangerment.”

Mark dropped the flowers entirely. He stared at the folder, his breathing becoming rapid and shallow. The illusion of his control shattered in real time.

“You can’t do this!” Mark shrieked, his voice cracking into a high-pitched, hysterical wail of panic. He pointed a shaking finger at the closed door of the suite.

“I have rights! She’s my wife! That’s my son! I have rights to my child!”

“You surrendered your rights the moment you told my daughter to ‘delay the birth’ of your son so you could pay off a gambling debt for a felon,” Victoria whispered, stepping closer, her eyes blazing with a maternal fury that made Mark physically cower.

Right on cue, the heavy door to the emergency stairwell at the end of the hallway was pushed open.