I never told my ex-husband or his wealthy family that I was the secret owner of the multi-billion dollar company where they all worked

It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon in late autumn. I was eight months pregnant now, my belly round and heavy, but I was still actively running Vance Enterprises from my home office. Arthur was managing the day-to-day operations at the corporate tower, allowing me to rest.

My phone rang. It was an unknown number. Usually, my security team filtered these calls, but this one came through on my private, emergency line—a line only a few people had.

I answered it. "Cassidy Vance."

"Cassidy... please don't hang up."

It was Brendan. His voice sounded hollow, rough, and desperate. I could hear the sound of traffic and rain in the background. He was likely calling from a payphone or a cheap burner.

"How did you get this number, Brendan?" I asked, my voice calm and even.

"I... I remembered it from an old tax document of yours I found in the trash months ago," he stammered. "Cassidy, they're going to offer me a plea deal. Ten years. Ten years in federal prison! I can't survive in there. You know I can't."

"You should have thought about that before you stole twenty-four million dollars from my company, Brendan."

"I did it for us!" he cried out, his voice cracking with emotion. "I wanted to prove to my father, to my mother, that I could be a big shot. I wanted to make you proud!"

"By cheating on me? By letting your mother treat me like an animal? By laughing while she poured freezing water over me?" I shook my head, even though he couldn't see me. "You didn't do it for me, Brendan. You did it for your own fragile ego."

"I'll do anything," he begged, weeping openly now. "I'll sign away all parental rights. I'll never look at you or the baby again. Just drop the embezzlement charges. Please. Tell the DA you don't want to prosecute. You have the power to do that!"

"I do have the power," I said softly. "But I won't use it. You need to face the consequences of your actions."

"If you don't..." Brendan’s voice suddenly shifted. The desperation turned into something dark, sharp, and ugly. "If you don't help me, Cassidy, I swear to God, I will make sure everyone knows what a monster you are. I'll go to the press. I'll tell them you set me up. I'll make your life a living hell."

I felt a cold chill run down my spine, but it wasn't fear. It was anger.

"Are you threatening me, Brendan?"

"I'm promising you," he hissed. "You think you're safe in your ivory tower? You're not. I have nothing left to lose. Remember that."

The line went dead.

I immediately called Marcus. "Marcus, Brendan just called me. He’s desperate and making threats. I want our security detail doubled. No one enters my building without a biometric scan and a background check."

"On it, Ma'am," Marcus said instantly. "I'll have a team stationed outside your door within ten minutes. We will also coordinate with the police to trace the location of that call."

I hung up, placing both hands on my belly. My daughter kicked, as if reassuring me.

"Don't worry, little one," I whispered. "I won't let him near us."

But that night, the storm outside seemed louder, more menacing. I lay in my bed, unable to sleep, watching the rain lash against the glass. I had all the wealth in the world, the best security money could buy, but a cornered animal is always the most dangerous.

And Brendan Morrison was very, very cornered.