Chapter 4

The Ritz-Carlton ballroom glittered with wealth and power. Crystal chandeliers cast a golden glow over New York's financial elite as they mingled, champagne flutes in hand. I adjusted my grandmother's pearl necklace, feeling strangely calm as I surveyed the room. This was Brooks's moment—the culmination of months of work to secure international investors for his latest expansion.

And I was about to destroy it all.

"Mrs. Grant." Daniel Morrison appeared at my elbow, his expression concerned. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Did you think I'd simply disappear, Daniel?" I smiled, taking a flute of sparkling water from a…