Chapter 1 - The Men in Black
The first black SUV stopped so close to the curb that rainwater splashed across my bare feet.
The second stopped directly behind it.
Four men stepped out before I could even stand.
I recognized the tallest one immediately.
Daniel Mercer had worked for my father for almost twenty years.
He had been standing beside Arthur Vance at my college graduation.
He had escorted my mother home from the hospital during her final months.
And now he was staring at the blood on my mouth with an expression so controlled that it frightened me more than anger would have.
“Mrs. Whitmore.”
“Please don't call me that.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Claire.”
He removed his coat and wrapped it around my shoulders.
A woman carrying a medical case hurried from the other SUV.
Dr. Elena Ross knelt beneath the streetlight and gently touched my cheek.
“Six times?”
I nodded.
“Any loss of consciousness?”
“No.”
“Dizziness?”
“A little.”
She examined my pupils while Daniel looked toward the glowing mansion behind the gates.
Grant's bedroom light was still on.
The curtains moved.
For one insane second, I wondered whether he was standing there watching me.
Then my cracked phone vibrated.
GRANT.
I stared at his name.
Another call came immediately after the first.
Then a message.
Come back inside when you've finished embarrassing yourself.
A second message arrived.
You don't have anywhere else to go.
Daniel read it over my shoulder.
Something changed in his face.
He took a photograph of the screen.
“Don't delete anything.”
“I won't.”
My father called moments later.
“Claire.”
“I’m with Daniel.”
“Good.”
His voice was steady.
“Dr. Ross will take you to Lake Forest Hospital.”
“I don't want Grant warned.”
“He won't be.”
I heard papers moving on the other end of the line.
Then another man's voice in the background.
My father was not at home.
He was already in an office.
Already working.
“Dad, what are you doing?”
“Making sure I understand exactly what kind of man married my daughter.”
A cold feeling moved through me.
“You already knew you hated him.”
“I disliked him.”
My father paused.
“Tonight gave me permission to investigate him.”
Daniel opened the SUV door.
Before I climbed inside, I looked back at the mansion.
Vanessa appeared behind an upstairs window.
Even through the rain, I recognized my silk robe.
She stood there for three seconds.
Then she slowly closed the curtain.
I finally understood something I should have understood years earlier.
Vanessa was not ashamed to be in my home.
Grant had convinced her it was already hers.
I climbed into the SUV.
As we pulled away, Daniel received a call.
He listened without speaking.
Then he looked at me.
“Your father's legal team found something.”
“What?”
“Whitmore Development has a major loan review scheduled Monday.”
My heartbeat changed.
“It’s Saturday.”
Daniel nodded.
“Your father controls one of the funds guaranteeing part of that debt.”
I stared at him.
“Grant never told me that.”
“He probably didn't know.”
Daniel looked through the rain at the disappearing mansion.
“By Monday morning, he will.”
May you like
And for the first time that night, I realized Grant had not thrown me out of his kingdom.
He had thrown me directly into the arms of the man who had helped finance it.
