Slamming into the chair opposite her, Chad glared intensely. "You really had us fooled. We underestimated you."

Who would have thought this girl, right under their noses, had built a whole business empire—and they never saw it coming?

Stephanie leaned back lazily. "Didn't you say you were going to shut my studio down? It's been a few days. What's the holdup?"

The sarcasm stung him. His face flushed with anger. If he could have shut her down, he would have. But instead of addressing that, Tyler said, "Mom had to be carried out of here today. What the hell did you do?"

Stephanie shrugged. "Take a wild guess."

That flippant answer ignited his fury. "That's your mother! Just because you have some powerful man behind you now, you think you can just ditch basic respect for your own family?"

Stephanie's eyes lifted slightly. "Newsflash, it's former family."

Tyler's breath hitched. "What the hell does that mean?"

Stephanie took a sip of water, seemingly unconcerned. "In about an hour, every media outlet in Long Harbor will have a copy of the signed disownment papers. Everyone will know the Hart family cut me off. So next time you want to act like I'm after your precious mommy, relax. I couldn't care less."

All this drama over nothing. When she first returned, Olivia acted as if Stephanie was there to steal her place. Tyler harbored the same anxiety, terrified she would absorb even a drop of motherly affection—as if she ever wanted it.

Tyler stared at her, incredulous. "You actually signed disownment papers? You're seriously cutting ties?" He slammed his hand on her desk so hard his palm stung.

Stephanie shot him a bored glance. "I already signed. As of right now, you and I are no relation. You have exactly zero authority to yell at me."

"You…" Tyler's breath hitched.

Stephanie cut him off. "Speaking of authority, do you even know what that means? Because let me be clear—you and your whole damn family are nothing to me now. So get the hell out of my office before I make you."

She stood, braced her hands on the desk, and in one fluid motion vaulted over it, landing squarely in front of him. Smooth, fast, and brutally efficient.

Stephanie folded her arms. "By the way, you ever wonder how Chris ended up with busted ribs and a twisted knee?"

"You did that?"

"Nope. But I could have."

Tyler snorted. "What, you gonna hit me now?"

Before the last word left his mouth, her fist connected with his face—hard. The metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth, and as he reached up to touch his lip, his fingers came away red. One of his teeth felt loose.

"Stephanie!" Tyler's voice exploded, his rage unrestrained. But before he could speak further, her fist landed squarely on his face again. He instinctively tried to grab her wrist, only to find her grip stronger than his. A split second later, another punch smashed into his temple, leaving his head ringing violently.

Stephanie wiped her wrist as if touching him had contaminated her. "You yell at me in my office again, and I swear you're leaving here on a stretcher. One more thing: now that the disownment papers are signed, you have zero authority over me. You're just some random guy off the street, so don't come in here acting like you can question me."

"I'm still your bro…"

"Excuse me?" That icy tone froze the words in his throat. 'Brother'? In all these years, she'd never called him that.

Tyler's chest heaved with anger as he forced himself upright. "You're going to pay for this. I swear."

And then, the office door swung open. Sebastian stood in the doorway, his expression cold enough to freeze the room. "You were saying?" His voice was quiet, almost casual, but the weight behind it was immense.