“Mr. Sterling,” the lawyer interjected, his eyes darting between the estranged couple. “Perhaps we should focus on the asset division clauses and the non-disclosure agreements—”

“No, let her hear it,” Mark interrupted, his eyes gleaming with malice. He wanted her to hurt. He wanted to see a crack in that stoic beige facade. “She needs to understand why this is happening. She needs to know that this isn’t just business; it’s biological necessity. Chloe is pregnant, Elena.”

Elena’s eyes shifted to his, but they remained dry.

“She is giving me the son you never could,” Mark continued, savoring the blow. “That’s why I need this done today. Right now. My son will be born legitimate. He will carry the Sterling name from his first breath. I won’t have him born a bastard because you dragged your feet.”

Elena looked down at the divorce decree. It was a thick document, nearly fifty pages of dense legal jargon, clauses, sub-clauses, and stipulations. In the past, Elena read everything. She was the one who caught the errors in Mark’s acquisition contracts. She was the one who noticed the tax loopholes that saved the company millions during the audit of 2018. She was the one who whispered the names of board members’ wives into his ear at parties.

But today, she didn’t turn a single page. She didn’t check the math. She didn’t review the property lines.

She simply flipped to the very last page.