Sierra sat behind her desk, fingers steepled, eyes fixed on the whiteboard she'd filled with scribbles, timelines, and connections. Her office looked less like a CEO's corner suite and more like a crime analyst's den. The blinds were shut tight. A half-drunk cup of coffee sat cold beside her.
This wasn't just about a rival woman anymore; it was about dismantling a scheme, exposing the truth buried beneath perfume and polished smiles.
She had spent the entire morning piecing together Isabelle's sudden reappearance, the suspicious payments, the burner phone Liam had tried to hide, and now the footage of him with Isabelle in Boston. Everything pointed to an affair. And though her gut twisted at the thought, Sierra knew she couldn't make her next move on assumptions.
That's why she'd decided to get ahead of Isabelle, not just emotionally, but legally, financially, and publicly. Her plan was unfolding step by step.
First: neutralise Isabelle. That meant gathering leverage. She'd already assigned her legal team to quietly draft a cease-and-desist notice should any scandal break in the press. Second: isolate Liam. She needed to observe him, learn what he knew, what he was hiding, and why he hadn't come clean. Third: build her own narrative. If this turned public, Sierra wouldn't be blindsided. She would be the storm.
As she leaned forward to examine her notes, her phone buzzed.
Miles - PI.
She answered at once.
"Talk to me," she said, already bracing.
"I've got something. You need to hear it."
Her spine straightened. "Go on."
"There's no room under Isabelle's name," he began. "Liam booked a standard suite for his personal stay, which matches the itinerary he submitted to your assistant. But the room he and Isabelle were caught entering? Not the same one. And not in her name either."
Sierra's eyebrows drew together. "Then whose name was it under?"
"Temporary alias. I traced the payment to a prepaid debit card acquired three days before the trip. The security footage shows her using the concierge to access the room. No luggage. No ID shown. Very calculated."
Sierra's stomach turned. "She planned it."
"There's more. I intercepted a recording. One of their calls post-Boston. It's... intense."
There was a pause.
"Play it," Sierra said.
A soft beep. Then static.
Liam's voice broke through, shaky and panicked. "Why would you do this, Isabelle? I don't even remember that night... You drugged me, you crazy woman!. I woke up and you were beside me. If not for that, I would never be caught sharing a kiss with someone like you. Don't twist this.
"Oh, so you think your wife will think that?"
"…Hahaha", Isabelle laughed evilly
"Please. Don't tell Sierra"
"…Fine, I'll do whatever it takes, just don't tell her", Liam said, helplessly
Then Isabelle's slow, venomous reply: "I don't need to tell her, Liam. She'll find out when I'm ready. You owe me. And I'm not going anywhere."
The call ended.
Silence flooded Sierra's office.
Her breath caught. Her hands trembled slightly against her desk.
Liam hadn't been unfaithful; he'd been violated.
Drugged.
Blackmailed.
And she'd been preparing for battle with the wrong enemy.
Miles spoke again. "All signs point to premeditation. Backs facing security cameras in the hallway. No traceable identity. She cleaned up her mess, except for him."
Sierra's voice was ice. "And now she's claiming she's pregnant."
"Yeah. The timing lines up. But I think the baby claim is just the final trap."
"Send me everything," she said. "Audio. Documents. Paper trail. I want all of it."
"Already done."
She ended the call.
A moment passed. Then Sierra stood slowly, her expression unreadable. She moved to the window, stared out at the skyline, and pressed a single button on her desk.
Her assistant's voice buzzed in. "Yes, Mrs. Hayes?"
"Cancel my appointments for the rest of the day. And get legal on standby."
"Yes, ma'am."
She clicked off.
All the fury she'd reserved for Liam now twisted into something colder. Not pity but strategy. Isabelle wanted to destroy her life and play mother to an empire she didn't help build?
Let her try.
Sierra had built this empire from the ground up with vision, sweat, and relentless tenacity.
Now she would protect it with fire.
That evening, Sierra sat on the edge of their bed with a glass of wine. The audio still echoed in her mind. Liam's voice hadn't sounded arrogant or evasive. He sounded like a man drowning.
She picked up the wedding photo she had once hidden.
For a long time, she stared at it.
Then she set it upright.
She wasn't ready to forgive Liam for keeping this from her. But she was done blaming him without cause.
Tomorrow, she'd confront Isabelle. Not with emotion.
With evidence, but with a fun twist.
"Let the queen of lies try to slither her way out of this", Sierra smirked.