Chapter 4 - The War Begins Behind Closed Doors
Emma stared at the headline on the tablet.
For several seconds, she could not understand the words.
Then she read them again.
And again.
EMMA WESTON REPORTEDLY SUFFERING FROM EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY AFTER PREGNANCY TRAUMA.
Her name.
Her life.
Her reputation.
Reduced to a headline.
Victoria Hale slowly placed the tablet down.
“This was planned.”
Emma looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“Because this is not a rumor.”
Victoria’s voice became colder.
“This is a strategy.”
Emma felt a wave of anger rise inside her.
“He’s telling the world I’m unstable?”
“Yes.”
“After he cheated on me?”
“Yes.”
“After he humiliated me?”
“Yes.”
Emma laughed.
But there was no happiness in it.
It was the kind of laugh that came when pain became too unbelievable.
“So he destroys my marriage, then tells everyone I’m the problem.”
Victoria nodded.
“That is how powerful people protect themselves.”
Emma walked toward the window.
The Swiss mountains were peaceful.
Beautiful.
Silent.
But inside her, everything was burning.
For years, she had tried to save a marriage alone.
Now she realized something terrifying.
Andrew was not trying to save their marriage.
He was trying to save his image.
A knock interrupted the room.
Daniel entered.
“We have another issue.”
Emma turned.
“What now?”
Daniel looked at Victoria.
Then at Emma.
“Andrew has filed an emergency petition.”
Emma froze.
“For what?”
Daniel hesitated.
“To temporarily restrict your custody rights after the baby is born.”
The room became completely silent.
Emma’s hand immediately moved to her stomach.
“He’s trying to take my baby?”
Daniel looked away.
“Yes.”
The words hit harder than anything before.
Andrew had hurt her.
He had lied to her.
He had betrayed her.
But this was different.
This was their child.
Their baby.
The one person who had never done anything wrong.
Emma’s voice became quiet.
“He thinks he can take my child away?”
Victoria stood.
“No.”
Her expression was firm.
“But he thinks he can try.”
Emma looked at the divorce documents sitting on the table.
The same papers she left behind.
The same papers that were supposed to represent freedom.
Now they represented war.
“Why?”
Victoria looked at her.
“Because Andrew believes you are powerless.”
Emma slowly turned around.
“And he’s wrong.”
For the first time in days, Victoria saw something change in Emma.
The woman who arrived broken was disappearing.
A stronger woman was taking her place.
---
Back in New York…
Andrew sat inside his office.
The city stretched beneath him.
Usually, the view made him feel powerful.
Today, it made him feel trapped.
His lawyer placed a folder on the desk.
“The media story is working.”
Andrew looked up.
“Working?”
“Yes.”
“People are questioning Emma.”
Andrew nodded.
“Good.”
The lawyer hesitated.
“There is one problem.”
Andrew’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“We still cannot locate her.”
Andrew leaned back.
“That means someone is helping her.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
The lawyer opened another file.
“We traced the private jet.”
Andrew’s expression changed.
“And?”
“It belongs to a company connected to the Carter Foundation.”
Silence.
Andrew slowly stood.
“The Carter Foundation is dead.”
The lawyer shook his head.
“No.”
He placed another document on the desk.
“It was hidden.”
Andrew looked down.
The name appeared again.
Emma Carter.
Not Emma Weston.
Emma Carter.
The woman he married.
The woman he thought had no power.
The woman he believed he controlled.
Andrew felt something he hated.
Fear.
Because if Emma had access to the Carter fortune…
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Everything changed.
---
