Five months after our divorce, I showed up at my ex-wife’s house on Christmas Eve convinced another man had replaced me—then she placed our six-day-old son in my arms.

I stared at the glowing screen. Eleanor’s name flashed like an accusation in the dim room.

Maren stiffened, her gaze darting toward the phone. "She knows you left the gala."

"Let her wonder," I muttered, moving to reject the call.

"No," Maren stopped me, placing a hand on my forearm. Her touch sent a jolt of warmth through my veins. "Answer it. Put it on speaker. I want to hear how she explains herself to you."

Taking a slow breath, I swiped the screen and tapped the speaker button.

"Everett!" Eleanor’s voice was crisp, imperious, and dripping with manicured irritation. "Where on earth did you vanish to? The Sterling family has been waiting for two hours. Senator Hayes asked about our tech expansion, and you weren't there to represent the firm. This is completely unacceptable."

"Merry Christmas, Mother," I said, my voice deadpan.

A brief pause on the line. "Don't take that tone with me. Where are you? The driver said you took your private car north."

"I’m in upstate New York. At Maren’s house."

The silence that followed was suffocating. I could hear the faint murmur of classical music and clinking champagne glasses in Eleanor's background suddenly cut off as she clearly stepped into a private room.

"Everett, turn around and come home immediately," she said, her voice dropping into a chilling hiss. "Whatever she is telling you is a lie. That woman is an opportunistic grifter who orchestrated this entire situation to extract money from our family."

"She didn't extract a dime," I replied coldly. "Her uncashed checks are sitting on the counter. Along with the nondisclosure agreement you forced her to sign behind my back."

"She violated the agreement by speaking to you!" Eleanor snapped, losing her composed facade. "I did what was necessary to protect you, Everett! You were blinded by domestic sentimentality. She would have dragged your name through scandal during the most crucial quarter in company history!"

"She gave birth to my son six days ago," I snarled, my voice shaking with fury. "Your grandson, Mother. And you tried to pay her off to pretend he didn't exist."

Eleanor didn't miss a beat. "A child? Do you really believe that child is yours? After five months apart? She was desperate, Everett. She slept around the moment you separated to secure a meal ticket—"

"Enough!" I roared, standing up so violently that the ottoman tipped over.

Leo whimpered at the sudden noise, and Maren immediately pulled him close, soothing him with hushed tones.

"Listen to me very carefully, Eleanor," I said, stripping away the title of 'Mother' forever. "You are removed from the board of directors effective immediately. I hold fifty-one percent of the voting shares, and by noon tomorrow, security will escort you from the Vance headquarters. If you ever contact Maren again, or step within a mile of my son, I will release every email, wire transfer, and extortion attempt you orchestrated to the federal prosecutors."

"Everett! You wouldn't dare—"

I ended the call and hurled the phone across the room. It shattered against the baseboard, pieces of plastic and glass scattering across the floor.

The room fell dead silent, save for Leo's soft hiccups.