“My Husband Threw Money at My Pregnant Face and Screamed ‘Get an Abortion’—9 Years Later, He Turned Pale When Our Son Walked Into His Restaurant Looking Exactly Like Him”...

While the legal storm consumed the Pierce empire, a new, unforeseen danger was gathering in the shadows.

Three weeks after the deposition, Ava was sitting in her high-rise office in downtown San Diego. Her healthcare consulting firm, Morgan Global Health, had officially opened its new West Coast headquarters.

The door opened, and Marcus walked in, his face unusually grim.

"Ava," Marcus said, closing the door behind him. "We have a complication."

Ava looked up from her desk. "What kind of complication?"

"Evelyn Pierce's legal team just posted her two-million-dollar bail," Marcus reported, sitting down across from her. "She’s out of custody pending trial."

Ava frowned slightly. "She’s broke. Where did she get two million dollars?"

Marcus pulled out a tablet. "That’s the concerning part. The bail wasn't paid by her remaining accounts. It was wired from a private equity firm based in Panama called Valence Capital."

"Valence Capital?" Ava repeated, her brow furrowing. "Who owns that?"

"A man named Julian Vance," Marcus replied, displaying a photograph on the tablet screen.

The image showed a handsome, imposing man in his late fifties with silver-streaked hair, cold blue eyes, and a sharp, aristocratic posture.

Ava’s heart did a strange, uncomfortable flip in her chest. "Julian Vance... why does that name sound familiar?"

"Because thirty years ago, before she married Logan’s father, Evelyn was engaged to Julian Vance," Marcus explained. "Vance is a major figure in international private finance—and rumor has it, he operates heavily in corporate extortion and money laundering. He left San Diego twenty-five years ago after a bitter feud with Logan’s late father."

Ava leaned back in her chair, analyzing the connection. "So Julian Vance is back in San Diego... and he just bailed out his ex-fiancée?"

"It gets worse," Marcus added, his voice dropping into a serious register. "Vance Capital just bought up sixty percent of Pierce & Alder Group's distressed debt. Logan’s restaurant empire is on the verge of bankruptcy, and Vance is moving in for a hostile takeover."

"Why would Vance care about a restaurant group?" Ava asked.

"Because he doesn't care about the restaurants, Ava," Marcus said grimly. "He wants the land. The real estate underneath Pierce & Alder's flagship locations in downtown San Diego and La Jolla is worth over eighty million dollars. Vance is using Evelyn to dismantle Logan’s company from the inside so he can seize the assets."

Before Ava could respond, her private phone buzzed on the desk.

It was an unknown number.

Ava hesitated, then pressed answer and put it on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Ava Morgan," a smooth, cultured male voice spoke through the speaker, dripping with quiet, dangerous sophistication. "Or should I say, the new owner of the La Jolla estate?"

"Who is this?" Ava demanded, her tone cold and guarded.

"My name is Julian Vance," the voice replied smoothly. "I believe we have a mutual acquaintance—Evelyn Pierce. Though I must admit, I find your recent defeat of her to be quite impressive."

"What do you want, Mr. Vance?"

"A simple conversation," Vance chuckled softly. "You now control forty percent of the Pierce family trust, which includes the voting rights to the flagship property on Fifth Avenue. I am offering you twenty million dollars cash today for those rights. You walk away with a fortune, and I finish taking what belongs to me."

Ava looked at Marcus, who shook his head firmly.

"My son's inheritance is not for sale, Mr. Vance," Ava stated clearly. "And I don't do business with people who buy convicted fraudsters out of jail."

A long, heavy silence stretched across the phone line. When Vance spoke again, the polite warmth had completely vanished from his voice, replaced by something dark and dangerous.

"You're a very strong woman, Ava," Vance murmured softly. "Just like Evelyn was when she was young. But strength without protection in this city is a very dangerous thing. Think about my offer. For your son’s sake."

The line went dead.