ABANDONED WITH TRIPLETS: CLAIMED BY THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE

The tension in the ballroom was so thick it could be cut with a blade.

"Claire, this is ridiculous," Ethan sputtered, attempting to regain some semblance of dignity in front of the surrounding billionaires. "You're embarrassing yourself. You think parading around with Mr. Sterling makes you relevant? You don't know the first thing about high finance!"

Sabrina stepped up, clutching Ethan's arm, her voice dripping with venom. "Claire, darling, shouldn't you be at home looking after those premature bastards you popped out? Or did you hire a nanny with Mr. Sterling’s charity money?"

The insult hung in the air like poison.

Before anyone could react, my hand moved with lightning speed.

SLAP!

The sharp crack of my palm striking Sabrina’s cheek echoed across the ballroom. Sabrina shrieked, stumbling backward into a tray of champagne flutes, tumbling onto the floor in a mess of spilled alcohol and ruined silk.

"Do not speak about my children," I said, my voice ringing clear and deadly across the room. "You were happy to sleep with my husband while I was carrying triplets, Sabrina. But you forgot one thing—Ethan didn't have a single dollar of his own. Every patent, every line of code, and every asset in his company was stolen from my father."

Ethan lunged forward, red-faced with rage. "You lying bitch! Security! Remove this woman!"

"Security will not touch her," Nicholas Sterling’s voice rumbled like thunder.

Nicholas raised a hand. His chief legal counsel, followed by two federal marshals in dark suits, stepped through the crowd.

"Ethan Mercer," the lead marshal announced, unrolling a formal legal document. "Pursuant to the forensic audit completed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, you are being served with a formal freeze of all domestic and international assets for grand larceny, patent infringement, and criminal wire fraud."

Ethan gasped, clutching his chest. "No... no, this is a mistake! My European hedge fund backed me!"

"Your European fund?" Nicholas offered a cold, predatory smile. "That fund is a subsidiary of Sterling Capital, Ethan. I bought your debt three months ago. You have been playing with my money, operating on my grace, and walking into my trap."

Nicholas leaned down, his eyes locking onto Ethan's terrified face. "The total damages awarded to Claire Hayes amount to one hundred and eighty million dollars. As of midnight, Mercer Logistics belongs to her. You are officially bankrupt."

The entire ballroom erupted into murmurs and frantic whispers. Reporters’ cameras flashed uncontrollably, capturing Sabrina sobbing on the floor and Ethan collapsing to his knees, utterly destroyed.

Nicholas turned his back on them, offering me his arm. "Shall we go, Claire? Our children are waiting for their bedtime story."