ine

ck, I walked into the lobby of the most e

spering of quiet wealth. My hair was pulled back in a severe, low ponytail. The

sively minimalist: concrete floors, black leather furniture, and a

ilk robe and holding a mug of coffee. Her red hair was a mess

a low whistle. "Well, well. Look at yo

er and sat in one of the severe black leat

g," I said, my voice even,

esk. It was her own firm's sta

e first time, I saw a flicker of genuine surprise in her eyes. She was seei

r name with a flourish. "Done. Now, show me the disaster. Sh

and sent an encrypted link to her email. "T

and typed in the password. The video

m the speakers. The sounds of my husband and his secretary. Their g

d Sloane

aw tightened. When the camera angle made it clear that the backdr

of a

t ended, the silence in the

. She had seen a lot in her career-ugly divorces, faked evidence, outright brutalit

is?" Her voi

ht," I sa

icking in. "Where did you get it? If you planted it yourself,

lied without blinking. "I was setting it up. I must

was lying. I knew she knew. But as a good lawyer, she al

the w

son. His

rd. A few seconds later, Katy Lawson's

scanning the details. "Graduated top of her class but from a poor family.

und," Sloane said, her eyes glinting with a cold light.

ded.

talk goals. What do you want, Addie? Do you want to destroy

prawling below. In the distance, the Carlisle Industr

eanly. I want a public Rejection, proposed by m

my voice dropping to a steely whisper, "I'm not taking a single cent from him. Every

ings she had expected me to say, this was not one of them. In her

was not a friendly smile. It was the smile a

respect and a thrill for the fight to come. "I'll take this case