The atmosphere inside the private office of Hartanto & Associates law firm felt profoundly serene. Unlike the bustling capital outside, soaked by the remnants of the evening rain, the carpeted room was filled only with the quiet hum of the air conditioner and the soft rustle of documents being flipped through.

Aileen sat with effortless grace in a deep-black leather chair. Across from her sat Mr. Herman—a graying, middle-aged attorney who had served the Hartono family for over two decades. The elderly man wore thin-rimmed glasses, gazing with intense seriousness at the pages of prenuptial agreements and share ownership deeds spread across the table.

"Madam Aileen, to be honest, I was quite surprised when I received your message this morning," Mr. Herman said, his voice heavy with professional concern. "For the past three years, you have always delegated all power of attorney over the company entirely to Mr. Rehan. Why have you suddenly asked me today to revoke all of those authorities?"

Aileen lifted her face. Her sharp, cold gaze caused Mr. Herman to pause for a fraction of a second, sensing a drastic shift within the sole young heiress. There was no longer any trace of her former innocence or hesitation.

"Mr. Herman, the trust I placed all this time unfortunately fell into the wrong hands," Aileen replied calmly, though her voice carried absolute, unyielding authority. "Rehan is not building my late father's company. He is dismantling and redirecting it for personal gains alongside his mistress. Please review the clauses in our prenuptial agreement. As the absolute majority shareholder, do I have the right to freeze all of his signing authorities without his consent?"

Mr. Herman lowered his gaze once more, adjusting his glasses as he meticulously read through article after article. Several seconds later, he looked up and nodded with certainty.

"Certainly, Madam Aileen. According to the inheritance deed left by your late father, you are the controlling majority shareholder holding seventy-five percent. Your prenuptial clause explicitly states that no core assets may be transferred or liquidated without your written consent. If you instruct it today, I can immediately issue a freeze on his authority and revoke Mr. Rehan's operational access rights to the company's financial system," Mr. Herman explained straightforwardly.

Aileen's lips curved into a subtle, lethal smile. "Do it now, Mr. Herman. Revoke all of his access rights to the primary operational accounts and reject any major funding requests that do not carry direct approval from me."

"Very well, Madam. I will handle it immediately this very night," Mr. Herman replied, bowing respectfully as he marveled at the newfound steel radiating from the woman before him.

Meanwhile, on the 25th floor of the PT Hartono Jaya Utama skyscraper, the atmosphere inside the managing director's private office stood in sharp contrast.

Rehan paced back and forth near his desk, his expression shrouded in overwhelming panic. He had just hurled his smartphone onto the desk after receiving an emergency call from the head of the company's finance department.

“Mr. Rehan, we have a major problem! The banking system has frozen authorization for fund disbursements for our new expansion project. The central legal department issued an instruction that any expenditure above one hundred million rupiah now requires direct verification from the majority shareholder—Madam Aileen.”

The finance head's words continued to echo endlessly inside Rehan's head, making him feel as though he were being choked by thin air.

"Damn it! Damn it all!" Rehan cursed, grabbing his own hair in deep frustration. "How could the financial system suddenly get locked down? For the past three years, Aileen never cared the slightest bit about corporate bureaucracy! Why is she suddenly meddling?!"

Rehan knew full well that if the expansion project failed due to funding issues, major investors would pull their capital, and his company—which he had secretly been using to fund his lavish lifestyle with Clara—would face total bankruptcy within days. His breathing came in ragged gasps, cold sweat soaking his shirt.

He had no other choice. He had to rush home tonight and force Aileen to sign the power-of-attorney restoration document by any means necessary.

The clock struck nine in the evening when Rehan violently slammed open the front door of their luxury mansion. The echoing crash reverberated throughout the house, shattering the quiet of the night.

Aileen sat leisurely on the living room sofa, reading a thick book with a cup of warm chamomile tea in her hand. She was completely unfazed by her husband's frantic, possessed-like arrival.

Rehan strode heavily toward Aileen, his breathing frantic and his eyes dilated with red fury. He gripped the edge of the small table in front of Aileen, glaring down at his wife with rage boiling at his absolute limit.

"Aileen!" Rehan roared, his booming voice causing the teacup in Aileen's hand to rattle softly. "What have you done?!"

Aileen slowly closed her book, setting it down on the table with supreme calmness. She looked up, meeting Rehan's panic-stricken face with an icy, disdainful gaze.

"Good evening to you too, my husband," Aileen said in an effortlessly relaxed tone, contrasting sharply with Rehan's fury. "Why did you come home this late with such a messy face? Is there a problem at the office?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Aileen!" Rehan screamed, losing the last shreds of his patience. He leaned forward, glaring fiercely at his wife. "You think I don't know?! You're the one who told the legal department and family lawyers to freeze my company's financial access, aren't you?! How dare you interfere in my business affairs without my permission?!"

Aileen slowly leaned back against the sofa, folding her arms across her chest. She looked Rehan up and down with a condescending stare, as though the man before her were nothing more than an annoying pest.

"Interfere?" Aileen let out a light chuckle—a chilling laugh that momentarily stunned Rehan. "Rehan, need I remind you who the rightful owner of that company is? That company is the blood and sweat of my late father, not some inheritance from your family that you can use however you please to splurge on your mistress!"

Thump!

Rehan's heart felt as though it had dropped out of his chest. Every drop of blood in his body instantly ran cold. His eyes widened in absolute horror as he stared at Aileen.

Mistress? D-did Aileen already find out about Clara?! Rehan thought hysterically, his panic mutating into a suffocating dread.

"W-what are you talking about?!" Rehan stammered, attempting to mask his nervousness behind a manufactured scowl. "Don't go throwing around wild accusations! You're just jealous because I'm busy working! Sign the financial access restoration power of attorney right now, Aileen! Don't make me angry!"

Instead of cowering in fear or weeping hysterically like the fragile woman of the past, Aileen slowly stood up from her chair. She smoothed down her silk sleepwear with grace, then stepped forward until the distance between them closed entirely. The scent of foreign perfume—the exact same cheap jasmine from previous nights—still lingered faintly on her husband.

Aileen raised her chin, looking straight into Rehan's violently trembling pupils.

"Angry?" Aileen whispered right in front of Rehan's face, her voice drifting out softly yet dripping with lethal venom. "Rehan... have you forgotten? This game has only just begun. And today, I merely turned off the financial tap you've been using to betray me."

Rehan stepped back with his nerve abruptly failing him, feeling an unnatural chill crawl up his spine. Aileen's gaze right then was no longer that of a devoted wife, but the stare of a lioness ready to rip out her prey's throat without mercy.

"You... you've lost your mind, Aileen!" Rehan squeaked in a trembling voice, utterly robbed of words before the wife who had transformed into the most terrifying entity in his life.

Aileen offered a crooked smile—a cold smirk that shattered Rehan's remaining courage—before turning on her heel and strolling away leisurely, leaving her husband trembling and frozen in the middle of the living room.