as the scent, or

r our first anniversary, a custom blend she' d commissioned from a perfu

flinched when I leaned

she said, her nose wrinkled. "I think I' ve d

n' t question it. I just wa

ur laundry room. It wasn' t mine. It smelled of cheap deo

didn' t even look

new intern at the tech incubator I' m funding. The kid' s

raw talent, his drive. I saw a look in her eyes I hadn' t seen in years, a

word she us

o. Isabella used to

s all in th

ur history, our marriage, meant something. I chose a high-profile charity ga

s wr

case. It was our pre-nuptial agreement. She offered to buy me out of our jo

y pride woul

my second

k. My investments, the foundation of my career on Wall Street, were surgically sabotaged. One by one, my positions collapsed. The algorit

thing left, s

apped my

ect daughter-in-law. She sent me a picture of them, tied t

e divorce papers, sign away ev

I signed. I would

ploded. A gas leak, the police

it wa

emptiness. I remember standing on the roof of my now-empty o

en, I

nlight streamed through the window. My phone buzzed on the nightstand

or love, not for recon

e mentioned his name was no longer a

no confrontation. No gala,

I would jus

o save the only pe

to my father' s contact. My thumb hovered over the call button.

"Listen to me very carefully. I need you and Mom to pack a bag. I' m booking you a

pause on t

ing alright? It' s the

ash. "I just... I just realized life is short. I want you

uld burn my entire life to the gr