Chapter 2: The Brother Who Knew Everything
The moment Tiffany disappeared into the rain, the jet became impossibly quiet.
No one spoke.
No one dared to breathe too loudly.
Derek Rivers sat in the rear of the aircraft, exactly where Julian had ordered him to sit — near the baggage compartment, away from Simone, away from the polished power he had always borrowed but never earned.
For the first time in his life, Derek looked small.
Simone sat in the master suite beneath a cashmere blanket, her bare feet tucked beneath her, one hand resting over her belly. Across from her, Julian poured a glass of water instead of champagne and placed it gently in her hands.
“You don’t have to defend him anymore,” Julian said.
Simone looked down.
“I wasn’t defending him,” she whispered. “I was surviving him.”
Julian’s face hardened, but his voice stayed calm.
“How long?”
Simone swallowed.
“The affair? Almost a year.”
Julian’s jaw tightened.
“And the way Tiffany treated you?”
Simone’s eyes lifted slowly.
“Since the moment she realized Derek wouldn’t stop her.”
That sentence changed something in the room.
Julian stepped away and opened a slim black leather folder from his briefcase. Inside were printed photos, hotel receipts, bank transfers, medical reports, and screenshots.
Simone stared at the folder.
“You knew?”
Julian didn’t lie.
“I suspected. Then I confirmed.”
Her hand trembled around the glass.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was building something Derek couldn’t talk his way out of.”
Before Simone could answer, the cabin intercom clicked.
The captain’s voice came through softly.
“Mr. Rivers, we are cleared for New York. Arrival in forty-eight minutes.”
Julian looked toward the rear cabin, where Derek sat pale and sweating.
“Good,” Julian said.
Then he turned back to Simone.
“When we land, Derek will no longer be CEO.”
Simone’s lips parted.
“And Tiffany?”
May you like
Julian’s eyes went cold.
“Tiffany was never just his mistress.”
