On my way to surprise my husband at his corporate gala, his cold secretary blocked me at the door. “His wife and son are already inside.” I covered my daughter’s ears—and made one phone call to the brother who quietly holds the strings behind half of Wall Street.

PART 1: The Gatekeeper

“My goodness, Vivienne. What are you doing here?” Chloe drawled, appraising my off-the-rack coat with undisguised contempt. “The gala is strictly restricted to invited corporate guests and legitimate family.”

“I brought Sophia down to surprise Dominic,” I replied, holding my six-year-old daughter’s hand tightly. She was clutching a handmade paper necklace she’d spent all afternoon coloring for her father.

Chloe’s laughter was a brittle, ugly sound.

“Surprise him? Your presence here is a massive liability, Vivienne. The executive vice president’s real family is already networking upstairs. His gorgeous fiancée, his brilliant young son, and his future in-laws.”

The air in my lungs turned to ash.

“Having you loitering down here is extremely distasteful,” she projected loudly to the staring socialites in the lobby. “Leave, before I call security to escort you out.”

“Mommy, where’s Daddy?” Sophia whimpered, burying her face in my coat.

Her trembling voice cut through my paralyzing shock. A dormant, tectonic rage began to rumble deep in my chest. I dropped to one knee to gently cover Sophia’s ears, then stood back up and locked my gaze onto Chloe’s smirk with a clarity cold enough to shatter glass.

I pulled out my phone and dialed the private, encrypted line of the most feared fixer on the eastern seaboard.

“Who are you calling?” Chloe sneered. “Your poor mother in the suburbs, to cry about it?”

She had absolutely no idea that my maiden name was Sterling. Vivienne Sterling.