Chapter 3Joyride to Jail

Her eyes widened in absolute shock.

"Are you seriously stooping so low as to use the D-word to manipulate me?"

"I am warning you, Tony. That toxic behavior won't work on me!"

I did not waste another breath. I pulled the divorce agreement from my jacket, signed it with a heavy stroke of my pen, and pushed it onto the table.

"Sign it."

Her mask cracked. Real panic bled into her voice, making it tremble.

"Over a stupid plane? You are throwing our marriage away over a piece of metal?"

"Jaxon already got manhandled! Nobody is even pressing charges against him anymore... Why do you have to be so incredibly vindictive?"

Watching her drown in her own delusions, I closed my eyes, exhausted down to my bones.

"That 'piece of metal' you keep mocking is my lifeline. It represents billions in research and the safety of this nation."

"It has kept me alive through dogfights over hostile waters. And you handed it over to a plastic entertainer for a photo op?"

Victoria froze. All the color drained from her cheeks.

"Airplanes all look the same to me... I honestly didn't know it was that important... Besides, he just took a couple of selfies..."

I held up a hand, cutting off her pathetic lies.

"The reality is, you bypassed security, gave him access to a lethal weapon, and then burned millions trying to cover his tracks."

"We are done."

Seeing the finality in my eyes, sheer terror finally seized her.

Grandpa Ashford scrambled to do damage control.

"Tony, she knows she crossed a line. To show you how sorry she is, she just authorized a fifty million dollar donation in military supplies to your base."

"I think you are misinformed, sir. That fifty million was the bribe money she paid to get Jaxon out of a black site. It had absolutely nothing to do with me."

The forced smile on Grandpa Ashford's face shattered. He began to shake with volcanic fury.

"You absolute disgrace! You funneled Ashford corporate funds to save that gigolo?!"

Victoria looked completely paralyzed. Seeing me reach for the door handle, she lunged forward, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist.

"Tony, the money wasn't for him! I swear! I felt so guilty, I just wanted to support your unit..."

"Please, give me one more chance! I will terminate Jaxon's contract right now. I swear to god, you will never have to look at him again."

Her nails dug painfully into my ribs. Her voice was wrecked with desperate sobs.

"Tony, please. Just trust me one last time. Please?"

I looked down at her tear-streaked face. After a long, agonizing silence, I let out a breath.

"You have one week. If you actually sever ties with him, we can talk."

She shivered, a look of desperate determination flashing in her tearful eyes.

"I promise! You will see!"

Surprisingly, she kept her word.

That very afternoon, Ashford Corporation issued a brutal public statement, terminating Jaxon and effectively blacklisting him from the industry.

Victoria completely completely changed her tune. She became the picture of a devoted, apologetic wife.

She canceled her corporate meetings, moved back into our house on the military base, and stuck by my side every second of the day.

She even asked to accompany me to the aviation museum to see the retired fighter jets.

"Tony, did you fly this one too?"

She traced the glass of the exhibit, looking at me with absolute adoration. "You are so incredible."

The golden hour light caught her profile, and for a fleeting second, I saw the girl I had fallen in love with all those years ago.

In that quiet museum, my deadened heart gave a faint, reluctant beat.

Even Commander Briggs pulled me aside later to offer some fatherly advice.

"Marriage is a battlefield of its own, Kingsley. If she is making a genuine effort to fix her fire, maybe let her back in the trench."

Driving back to the base, looking at the soft, hopeful gaze she kept giving me, my resolve softened.

Maybe... just maybe, it was worth saving.

But the second I stepped into my office, the gate guard rushed in, looking completely panicked.

"Colonel Kingsley, sir! Your son is throwing a massive tantrum at the main gate... We don't know how to handle this!"

The blood in my veins turned to ice.

In all our years of marriage, Victoria and I never had a child.

Whose kid was at the gate?