Chapter 2

They dragged me out of the boutique like an animal, throwing me into the back of a black SUV.

Naomi handed me a ringing phone. Grant was on speaker.

"You embarrassed Tessa, and you embarrassed me," Grant’s voice was slurred with premium Scotch. "Did you really think you could bring the cops into my business?"

"She stole my dress! She stole my life!" I screamed, struggling against the zip-ties on my wrists.

"She gave me the respect you never did," he spat. "She gets on her knees for me. She doesn't act like she's too good for me. That's what I needed. Not some ice queen CEO."

"You're a coward, Grant. My parents will destroy you for this."

Grant laughed.

"Your parents? They just signed over their voting proxies to me, Cecilia. They think you're in a Swiss rehab for burnout. By tomorrow's board meeting, I will legally control the Rothwell empire. If you breathe a word of this, I'll submit the forged tax documents I prepared. Your parents will rot in federal prison."

My breath hitched. He hadn't just stolen my fiancé. He had meticulously planned to swallow my family's legacy.

We drove for two hours, deep into the East End woods, pulling up to the hunting lodge I had decorated for our future family.

Inside, Grant lounged on the leather sofa, Tessa curled into his side. She was wearing my favorite cashmere robe, sipping my 25-year-old bourbon.

"Honey, look at her," Tessa whimpered, pointing at me like a stray dog. "She ruined my day."

"I know, baby," Grant stroked her hair. He stood up and tossed a stack of proxy forms at my feet.

"Tessa took care of me while you were gone," Grant said, his eyes dead and detached. "If you want to stay alive, you'll serve her. You'll clean her house. You'll be her little maid."

The man I had loved for ten years was gone. Standing before me was a parasite.

I gathered every ounce of Rothwell pride I had left, and spat directly into his face.

"Bastard."

Grant slowly wiped the spit from his cheek. His expression darkened into something demonic.

"Hold her down," he barked at the guards.