Because he'd married into the Hargrove family, he had no power over Vivienne. She kept no shortage of men on the side. But reality was cruel that way when the balance of power was this lopsided. Vivienne could play around. He couldn't.

Maybe the two of them had some kind of arrangement, an unspoken agreement to look the other way. But with these videos in my hands, the equation changed entirely.

All I had to do was leak the footage. It would be a public humiliation for Vivienne, and she would have no choice but to respond.

Owen clearly understood this.

"Logan, name your terms. Anything within my power, and I'll make it right."

I glanced at my teacup. He scrambled to pour me more water.

"I've been reading a lot of those billionaire CEO novels lately. I'm no billionaire, but I figured I'd try out what it feels like to have someone kneeling at my feet."

Owen's face twisted, but he got on his knees.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

I backhanded him across the face, left then right, one after another. "Director Black, am I breaking the law by hitting you?"

Owen forced a grin. "If anyone else hit me, that'd be assault. But when you do it, Logan, it means you think I'm worth the trouble."

"Smooth talker. That earns you a few more."

Owen didn't dare flinch. He took every blow.

I looked down at him. "Now let's talk business. I pulled Lois's bank records. Over the years, she transferred a total of a hundred and six thousand dollars to you. That sound about right?"

Owen's face darkened. "That's right."

"I won't gouge you on interest. Round it up to a hundred and twenty thousand. Any problem with that?"

"No problem. None at all." His answer came fast.

"How long until it hits my account?"

"Three days. Three days, tops."

"Good boy. Almost makes me feel bad slapping you around."

I said it with a smile, then cracked him across the face a few more times before finally standing up and heading for the door.

"Logan, the videos..."

I turned back. "That depends on how you behave."

Owen's expression was grim, but all he could do was watch me leave.

After leaving Owen's place, I headed to the office. Whatever rage I'd had, I'd burned through all of it the day I found out the boy wasn't mine.

Now it was about recovering what I'd lost and getting my life back on track.

Lois was destined to become a thing of the past.

What I hadn't expected was that when I got home after work that evening, Lois was still there.