My Husband Left Me Home to Wash the Dishes While He Took His Mistress to the Year's Biggest Charity Gala—Neither of Them Realized the Mysterious Billionaire Chairwoman They Were Desperate to Impress Was the Wife They Had Humiliated for Eight Years... And That I Secretly Owned the Company, the Mansion, and the Future of His Entire Business Empire

Lenette hurried toward the stage.

“Arden, you cannot do this to your own family.”

Arden looked at her calmly.

“A family does not humiliate someone for years and then demand loyalty when the truth becomes inconvenient.”

“We gave you the Winslow name.”

“And the Fairchild name paid for the home where you treated me like unpaid staff.”

The ballroom fell silent again.

Arden explained that the mansion in Naples belonged to a Fairchild Capital property company. Blake’s business headquarters had been purchased through one of her funds.

The medical support that helped Warren recover had been provided by the Fairchild Foundation.

The money that settled Lenette’s debts had come from Arden.

The funds used to open Corinne’s brand had also come from her.

“Every symbol you used to convince yourselves that you were superior to me was supported by accounts I controlled.”

Corinne began deleting posts from her phone.

Lenette lowered herself into a chair.

Blake approached the stage and dropped to one knee.

“Arden, I lost my way, but I still love you.”

A quiet sound of disbelief moved through the audience.

Arden looked down at him.

“When you believed I had nothing, you chose someone else and allowed your family to make me feel unwelcome in my own home.”

“We can repair this.”

“You are not asking to repair our marriage. You are asking to regain access to the life you thought belonged to you.”

Blake’s voice softened.

“Think about the beginning. What we had was real.”

Arden’s expression became sad rather than angry.

“I have thought about the beginning for years. That memory is the reason I stayed long after your behavior told me to leave.”

Graham handed Blake two folders.

The first contained the separation agreement.

The second contained a board decision removing him as chief executive of Winslow Urban Development.

Through several investment partnerships, Fairchild Capital controlled sixty-four percent of the company.

Blake stared at the documents.

“You cannot take my company.”

“I am not taking it,” Arden answered. “You placed it at risk each time you altered a report, redirected a payment, or signed an agreement you knew was misleading.”