I left the hospital carrying my daughter’s ashes when my husband finally called from wherever he was with his mistress and coldly said, “The bill has been taken care of. Stop bothering me.” I didn’t argue with him. I didn’t allow him to hear my voice break.

Until that moment, I had assumed Harrison Vance’s safeguards were meant only to protect me financially if my marriage collapsed, but apparently my father’s concerns had eventually extended to Chloe as well.

“What did my father tell you?” I asked, leaning forward in my chair.

Gideon leaned back slowly in his leather armchair.

“He believed Brendan was becoming far too dependent on the family structure.

Money, staff, daily decisions, he was outsourcing everything that required personal responsibility.”

“That doesn’t fully explain Chloe,” I noted.