From His Invisible Wife to the World's Icon novel Chapter 138

A familiar ringtone shattered the silence, interrupting him.

Seeing the caller ID, he answered the phone, wedging it between his ear and shoulder while pulling open the hidden wall safe. A flicker of confusion hit him. He could have sworn he left the fake divorce certificate on the top shelf, but it was sitting on the bottom. Shrugging it off as a lapse in memory, he grabbed it.

He tossed the thick envelope right on top of the fake certificate.

Because the room was practically pitch black, he didn't even glance at the cover page. He completely missed the bold letters spelling out 'DIVORCE AGREEMENT' as he slammed the heavy steel door shut.

Listening to the voice on the other end, he agreed coolly. "I'll be attending the birthday gala tomorrow night, and I will be bringing my wife."

He hung up, sank into his leather chair, and checked his luxury watch. It was still daylight in London. He pulled up a contact for the head of The Zener Institute and made the call. "Mr. Wilson, Colton Witt is still in the air, correct?"

"He has a horrific grasp of basic professional courtesy. I need you to assign a different liaison to handle our operations moving forward..."

The man on the other end gave him a highly satisfactory answer.

He ended the call and threw himself into his work.

Early the next morning.

Dressed in comfortable activewear, Lydia practically beamed as she chatted on the phone. "Daniel, you don't need to call me three times a day to promise me things are fine. I trust you."

"The day after tomorrow, right?"

"Got it. I'll meet you at the coffee shop we agreed on."

"I won't go near your office or the courthouse."

Hanging up, Lydia was in a fantastic mood. She grabbed her gym bag and headed for the door, but Gable intercepted her.

"Ma'am, please have a bowl of bird's nest soup before you go."

"You have it, Gable. I'm craving a sandwich this morning."

"Then let me run down to the deli."

"No need, Harrison is picking me up." Lydia slipped into her lightweight sneakers and pulled open the front door—just as Xavier walked out of his apartment across the hall.

He was dressed in a sharp black suit paired with a black dress shirt. He looked impossibly sleek, commanding, and totally unapproachable. A dark shadow hung heavy over his brow.

Trailing closely behind him were Wesley and a small army of executive assistants, hauling several large boxes of documents. It looked like they were in the middle of launching a massive corporate takeover.

Lydia froze, deciding it was best to let them go first.

The elevator chimed. The imposing man stepped in first, followed by his swarm of executives. Wesley was the last one in, holding the doors open with his hand.

"Ms. Sterling, are you heading down? Join us."

Seeing Wesley's overly enthusiastic wave, she hesitated. Suddenly, two hands hit her lower back, and Gable forcefully shoved her out the door.

This was a specialized team-building retreat exclusively for the elite researchers heading to Silicon Valley.

Harrison had booked a massive, all-inclusive compound at The Apex Tactical Base.

They had paintball, go-karts, bumper cars, water slides, indoor arcades, cutting-edge VR simulators, escape rooms—you name it.

The team split up to meet at the base.

She had barely stepped out of the car when a massive, luxury charter bus rolled to a stop.

Dozens of high-ranking executives from The Foster Group began filing out. Leading the pack was none other than her husband, Frederick Foster.

"Mrs. Foster?" several of the executives called out in surprise.

Left with no choice, Lydia walked over to greet them politely.

"What are you doing here?" Frederick demanded, his tone dripping with careless indifference.

"Team building," Lydia replied curtly, immediately turning to follow Harrison and her crew inside.

It didn't matter. They would all do their own thing and never cross paths.

Besides, Frederick never wasted his precious time on childish games like paintball.