Chapter 1
PART 1:
“The house, the company, the money—you get nothing.”
Julian Cross said it with a smile.
Not a nervous smile.
Not a broken one.
A cruel one.
The courtroom was packed that morning.
Reporters sat near the back.
Former employees filled two rows.
A few old family friends whispered behind their hands, pretending they were there for support.
But everyone knew the truth.
They had come to watch Iris lose everything.
Julian stood at the defense table in a dark tailored suit, his mistress beside him in a cream-colored dress that looked far too expensive for a divorce hearing.
Her hand rested lightly on his arm.
Like she had already won.
Across the aisle, Iris stood alone.
Gray coat.
Red eyes.
No jewelry.
No family.
No one holding her hand.
Julian pointed at her like she was a failed investment.
“You walked out with nothing,” he said. “And you’ll leave this court with nothing.”
The mistress lowered her eyes, but the corner of her mouth lifted.
Several people in the room shifted uncomfortably.
Iris swallowed hard.
For a second, it looked like she might break.
Then she lifted her face.
Her hand moved slowly to the button of her coat.
“You really believe that?” she asked.
Julian’s smile paused.
Just for a heartbeat.
Iris unbuttoned the coat.
The room went quiet.
She slid it off her shoulders.
A collective breath caught in the courtroom.
Long scars crossed her shoulder.
Old marks ran down one arm.
A thick scar curved along her ribs, pale and deep, like the skin had healed around a pain it never forgot.
The mistress went white.
Julian’s face emptied.
Iris touched the scar near her ribs.
Then she pointed at him.
“These are your signatures.”
No one moved.
The judge sat straighter.
His expression changed instantly.
Cold.
Sharp.
Final.
“This is no longer a divorce hearing.”
Julian’s mouth opened.
May you like
But nothing came out.
👉 Because the scars Iris revealed were only the beginning of what Julian had tried to bury…
