Aiden Howard

I smiled and applauded my husband and his mistress. Just moments before, he had used my family’s foundation to award her its highest honor and a grant worth millions. All of New York high society was there to witness the carefully staged humiliation. Ethan thought I would hide somewhere and cry. He thought he had everything under control. He had mistaken my kindness for stupidity, my concessions for weakness. He had forgotten one thing. My great-grandfather wrote the foundation’s charter. Every rule in it was designed to keep out parasites like him. I didn’t make a scene. While he embraced his mistress and accepted the room’s applause, I quietly slipped out. Then I called the auditor. My voice was ice. “Ethan Vance has committed a serious breach of fiduciary duty.” “Initiate the removal process.” The next morning, I cornered Ethan in the study. He was on the phone, flushed with triumph, his fingers trailing across the mahogany desk my great-gra......