To the Morrison family, I was merely the inconvenient, pregnant ex-wife—a woman to be tolerated, mocked, and eventually discarded

Chapter 4: The Empire Freezes

“Do it,” I said. “Now.”

I ended the call and placed the phone gently on the table.

For five seconds, the silence was almost beautiful.

Then the first vibration came. A low hum against the wood. Brendan glanced down. His phone lit up with a board notification. Then Jessica’s phone followed. Then Diane’s. Around the room, screens flashed like warning lights on a sinking ship.

Their faces changed one by one.

First confusion. Then disbelief. Then the pale, sickly realization that this was not embarrassment. This was consequence.