The cold fluorescent lights of Marcus Vance’s private investigative agency hummed above my head, a low, maddening vibration that seemed to synchronize with the erratic pounding of my pulse.

At 7:00 AM the following morning, while I was sitting on Maren’s small wooden porch holding tiny Clara in my arms—feeding her a warm bottle of milk while my heart swelled with a fierce, protective love I had never known existed—my phone began to vibrate violently in my suit pocket.

It was my lead corporate attorney, Harrison Sterling.

I carefully handed Clara back to Maren, stepped off the porch onto the grass, and swiped the screen.

"Speak, Harrison," I said.

"Rowan, where the hell are you?" Harrison’s voice was frantic, laced with static and background noise. "All hell has broken loose! Charles Whitmore—Tessa's father—just called an emergency board meeting for nine o'clock this morning. He’s filed a motion to remove you as Chief Executive Officer, citing breach of fiduciary duty and moral turpitude!"

I looked back at the porch. Maren was sitting in the rocking chair, cradling Ethan, while Clara reached up to touch her mother's chin. The peace of that scene was in stark, absolute contrast to the corporate bloodbath waiting for me in downtown Nashville.

"On what grounds?" I asked calmly, my voice steady.

"Tessa went to him last night after you kicked her out," Harrison explained quickly. "She told him you had a mental breakdown, that you were making wild, unsubstantiated accusations, and that you abandoned the company on the eve of our major expansion. Furthermore, the Whitmore Investment Group has initiated a short-sell on Bellamy Global stock, and rumors are already hitting the financial press that the wedding is off!"

I smiled a cold, dangerous smile.

A year ago, this news would have panicked me. I would have run to my office, called three crisis PR firms, and begged Charles Whitmore for a meeting to save my stock value. But standing here, in the clean morning mist, smelling the pine trees and knowing my children were safe in their mother's arms, the high-stakes game of corporate politics felt entirely insignificant.

"Harrison," I said coldly. "Gather the board. Tell them I will be at the meeting at nine o'clock sharp."

"Rowan, you need a strategy! If Whitmore sways the independent directors, they have the votes to strip you of your voting control!"

"I have a strategy, Harrison," I replied, looking down at the briefcase sitting on the porch steps. "I have the entire truth. Make sure the press room on the ground floor is open as well. I want every business reporter in Tennessee in that building by ten."

I hung up the phone and walked back onto the porch.

Maren looked up at me, her sharp intuition instantly picking up on the shift in my posture. "It's starting, isn't it?"

"Tessa’s father is trying to strip me of my company," I said honestly. "They think they can bully me into submission because they control fifteen percent of the stock."

Maren set Ethan down in his stroller and stood up. She walked over to me, looking into my eyes. For the first time in a year, I saw a flicker of the partner I used to have—the brilliant, sharp woman who used to help me navigate complex negotiations before she was pushed out.

"Don't let them intimidate you, Rowan," she said quietly. "Tessa and her father built their entire empire on fear and manipulation. But fear only works when you have something to hide."

She reached out and adjusted the collar of my rain-stained suit jacket, a simple, instinctual gesture that sent a jolt of warmth straight to my heart.

"Go take back your honor," she said softly. "We'll be here when you get back."

I looked at her, deeply moved. "Thank you, Maren."

"Don't thank me yet," she added with a small, rare smile. "You still owe me ten months of child support and about a thousand diapers."

For the first time in nearly a year, a genuine, loud laugh erupted from my chest. I leaned down, pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Ethan’s head, brushed my thumb against Clara’s soft cheek, and turned toward my car.