Marcus's POV
The woman sitting across from me in the coffee shop is not Elena Morgan.
She can't be. Elena Morgan had fire in her eyes and dreams bigger than the sky. Elena Morgan could fight about AI algorithms for six hours straight and make it sound like poetry. Elena Morgan lit up every room she walked into.
This lady is a ghost wearing Elena's face.
"You look different," I say, and quickly regret it. Smooth, Marcus. Real smooth.
"Seven years of marriage will do that." Her voice is flat. Dead. She wraps her hands around her coffee cup like she's trying to steal its warmth. "Thank you for meeting me early. Before your office opens."
"You said it was urgent." I check my watch. 7:45 AM. Elena's meant to come to my office at nine, but she texted me an hour ago asking to meet here first. Something about needing to tell me something before our scheduled meeting.
Something she doesn't want anyone else to hear.
"I'm meeting Vivian in fifteen minutes," Elena says quietly.
I nearly spit out my coffee. "You're what?" "Adrian's lover. She texted me last night. Said she has information that could help me. That Adrian's been lying to her too."
"Elena, that's crazy. It's obviously a trap—"
"I know." She finally looks at me, and I see something in her eyes I didn't expect. Not hope or ignorance. Strategy. "But what if it's not? What if she really does have information I can use?"
"Then she's still the woman sleeping with your husband. You can't trust her."
"I can't trust anyone." Elena's laugh is bitter. "My husband's been planning to leave me for months. My son wishes I'd disappear. My in-laws hate me. The only person who ever believed in me is sitting across from me right now, and I lost that friendship seven years ago."
Her words hit harder than they should. I've spent seven years telling myself I was over Elena Morgan. That I'd moved on from the brilliant student who picked a rich husband over her own potential.
But seeing her like this—broken and alone and still fighting—brings everything back.
"You didn't ruin anything," I say quietly. "You made a choice. It was the wrong choice, but you made it. Now you get to make a different one."
"Do I?" She pulls out a folder and slides it across the table. "This is the prenup I signed. Read page seven."
I flip to the page and feel my blood pressure spike with every word. "This is illegal. Elena, this isn't a prenuptial agreement—it's a prison term. You get nothing. Less than nothing."
"I know."
"And you signed this?"
"I was twenty-two and in love." Her voice cracks. "He told me it was just a formality. That his family needed it. That it didn't matter because we'd never get divorced anyway."
I want to reach across the table and shake her. Want to go back in time and stop her from ever meeting Adrian Kane. Want to do anything except sit here watching the woman I once knew collapse into nothing.
But that won't help. Anger won't help.
Strategy will.
"Okay," I say, pushing my voice to stay calm. "Here's what we're going to do. First, you're going to meet Vivian—"
"Really? You think I should?"
"Yes. But you're not going alone." I pull out my phone and text my detective. "Daniel will be there, three tables away. Recording everything. If Vivian says anything useful, we'll have it. If she tries anything, he'll interrupt."
Elena's shoulders relax slightly. "Okay. Thank you."
"Second, after your meeting with Vivian, you come straight to my office. We go through every piece of evidence you have and we build a case so solid that Adrian's lawyer will beg him to settle."
"But the prenup—"
"The prenup can be challenged if we can show Adrian violated the terms. Adultery is cause for invalidation in this state. So is hiding marriage assets." I lean forward. "Elena, you said he has millions in offshore accounts under Vivian's name?"
"Forty-seven million. And he's moving fifteen million to her today."
I actually smile. "Then he's an idiot. That's marital fraud. He was supposed to reveal all assets. Instead, he hid them and moved them to his mistress. Any judge will tear that prenup to shreds."
For the first time since I've seen her, hope flickers in Elena's eyes. "So I can fight this?"
"You can destroy him." I pause. "But Elena, there's something else we need to talk about. Something that could change everything."
"What?"
"Your formula. The AI system you created before you got married. Do you still have it?"
Her face goes blank. "I haven't thought about that in years."
"That's not what I asked. Do you still have the code? The files? Anything?"
"I... yes. It's all backed up on an old hard drive in my closet. Why?"
This is it. The moment that could change everything. I choose my words carefully.
"Because that formula was worth millions seven years ago. Today? With how AI has exploded? It's worth billions, Elena. And if you never sold the intellectual property rights, it's still yours. Legally yours."
I watch the truth hit her. Watch her brain—that bright, beautiful brain Adrian tried to bury—start working again.
"I never sold it," she whispers. "Adrian told me to forget about it. Said I didn't need a job. So I just... put it away."
"Then we're not just fighting a divorce case." I lean back, unable to hide my grin. "We're starting a tech company. We're going to take that formula, build it into something revolutionary, and we're going to bury Adrian Kane under the weight of your success."
"Marcus, I can't—"
"Can't what? Can't be brilliant? Can't succeed? Can't show Adrian exactly what he threw away?" I soften my voice. "Elena, you were the smartest person I ever taught. You still are. You just forgot for a while."
Tears run down her face, but she's smiling. Actually smiling. "You really think I can do this?"
"I know you can. And I'm going to help you every step of the way."
She reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. "Why? Why do all this for me?"
Because I've been in love with you since the day you walked into my classroom, I think. Because watching you dim your light for Adrian Kane was the worst torture possible. Because you deserve everything he denied you.
But I don't say any of that.
"Because someone needs to," I say instead. "Now go meet Vivian. Find out what she knows. Then come to my office and let's plan your return."
Elena stands, stronger than she was ten minutes ago. She's about to leave when her phone buzzes.
She checks it and goes completely pale.
"What's wrong?"
She turns the phone toward me. It's a shot. Security camera video from Adrian's office building.
The date shows last night. 11:47 PM.
The image shows Vivian Winters entering Adrian's private room. And she's not alone.
She's with a man. Tall, expensive suit, his arm around her waist.
The man is Richard Morrison. Adrian's lawyer.
Elena's voice is barely a whisper. "Vivian's sleeping with Adrian's lawyer? But why would she—"
Then we both see it. The next picture in the text thread.
It's a record. A new prenup. But not the one Adrian had prepared.
This one leaves everything to Vivian Winters.
And it's dated three days ago.
My mind races through the consequences. "Elena, I think—"
"Adrian's not planning to divorce me and marry Vivian," Elena interrupts, her voice hard. "Vivian and Richard are planning to take everything from both of us. They're using Adrian."
Another text comes through: Meet me now, Elena. We have ten minutes before Adrian sees what's happening. If we don't work together, we both lose everything. -V
Elena looks at me, her eyes wide. "What do I do?"
I assess the risks, the angles, the possible outcomes. This could be the trap of all traps.
Or it could be the tool that destroys everyone who hurt her.
"You go," I say. "But Elena? Don't trust anything she says. Not until we know what she really wants."
Elena nods and runs out of the coffee shop.
I sit there alone, staring at the security video on my phone.
Something's wrong. Something bigger than any of us realized.
Because if Vivian's betraying Adrian, and Adrian's betraying Elena, then who sent Elena those mysterious texts last night?
Who gave her the foreign account numbers?
And what the hell is really going on?