To the Morrison family, I was merely the inconvenient, pregnant ex-wife—a woman to be tolerated, mocked, and eventually discarded part1

I reached into my purse with wet fingers and pulled out my phone.

Brendan’s smile widened. “Calling someone to pick you up, Cassidy?”

I didn’t answer him.

The screen flickered, damp but still alive. My hands were cold, but my voice was steady when I found Arthur’s number and pressed call. Then I placed the phone on speaker in the center of their dining table

 Protocol Seven

Arthur answered on the second ring.

“Cassidy?” he said, his tone instantly alert. Arthur Vale, Executive Vice President of Legal, did not waste words. He knew better than anyone what my name meant inside Morrison Global, even if the family sitting around me had chosen to forget.

I stared at Brendan while water continued to drip from my hair. “Arthur,” I said, “activate Protocol Seven.”

The room changed.