Grant didn''t say a word.

Back when Cindy was with him, her life was pure luxury-jewelry, limited edition bags, anything she wanted, he bought it for her. But now thepany was bankrupt, and suddenly she wanted out. She was ready to ditch him and their kid to find her next ticket to the good life. Like life was really that simple.

She was fine sharing the highs, but the moment things got tough, she was gone. Grant just couldn''t swallow that.

So as far as he was concerned, there was no way he was agreeing to this divorce.

He trusted what Allison said—not just because of what she knew, but because he''d seen firsthand how Cindy looked down on Allison, even going out of her way to humiliate her more than once.

Brooklyn started the car, and the white Rolls-Royce eased out of the underground parking lot.

"Mr. Reynolds, I''m on my way to the hospital to talk things over-does that work for you?" Allison asked.

Grant hesitated, but finally said, "Yeah, that''s fine."

"And please, Mr. Reynolds, could you make sure anyone not involved steps out?" Allison added.

She meant Cindy and Shawn. Last thing she wanted was them butting in while they talked about the case.

Grant''s voice was low. "Got it."

Twenty minutester.

At the hospital, Allison and Brooklyn stepped into Grant''s room.

"Mr. Reynolds," Allison greeted him, shing a bright, easy smile.

Grant couldn''t even pretend to smile back.

Hispany was gone, his home life was a mess, and he was facing health issues on top of it all. Cindy showed up every day just to fight with him. He felt like his head was going to split open, and he swore the gray in his hair and the lines on his face had doubled overnight.

Grant''s voice was cold. "There are plenty ofwyers in Oak Lake. Why should I hire you?"

Allison just smiled. "There are a lot ofwyers, sure-but not everyone can say they''re Ms. Owens."

"Your family''s bankrupt. From what

I''ve heard, Cindy hired Patricia at Summit & Vale Solicitors for the divorce-she only paid her eight grand. Cindy can''t afford more, and neither can you, right?"

Grant''s face tightened, but he didn''t reply.

Lawyer fees are based on what''s actually at stake. And now, all their valuable assets were frozen by the court-no

court none of it belonged to them anymore. There was barely anything left to split, so legal fees stayed low.

But for Grant, eight thousand dors was still a lot-it was more than a month''s

rent and expenses for his whole family.

He was broke. Where was he supposed to find the money to pay awyer?

Allison''s smile stayed put. "Mr. Reynolds, with a case this small, mostwyers wouldn''t even bother Even if you didn''t pick me and tried someone else, if I gave them a heads-up, do you really think any firm in Oak Lake would take your case?"

Grant knew she was telling the truth.

Allison wasn''t just anotherwyer-she was the daughter of Javier Owens, the richest man in Oak Lake.

Anyw firm that did her a favor would have the Owens family in their debt, and that was worth way more than some messy divorce case.

It didn''t take a genius to figure out which side to choose.

After thinking it over, Grant finally said, "Alright. I''ll hire you. Just do everything

you can to make sure the court refuses the divorce."

Allison''s lips curved. "You can count on me."

***

After her abortion, Kate spent some time at home recovering.

Her case for ndering Allison and stirring up her fans to attack Allison online was

still tied up in appeals. The Oak Lake District Court hadn''t even scheduled the next hearing yet.

There was no saving the Reynolds Group at this point.

Kate had already made her decision.

She reached out to a rich kid from her old crowd-one who''d always had a crush

on her and asked him to help her get out of the country.