Chapter 3

My heart plummeted into an abyss.

Her smile grew sickeningly sweet.

"Did you think he kept your scars a secret?"

"Sorry to break it to you, but when he tucks me into bed, he tells me everything."

"He told me you got trapped as a kid, and that you can't sleep whenever it rains."

"He said you look tough on the outside, but deep down, you're still that pathetic little girl who's scared of the dark and water."

A loud ringing filled my ears.

Her words were far colder than the storm crashing over me.

Three years with Julian.

I had shielded him from hostile board takeovers, secured international venture capital for him, and stayed up until 4:00 AM revising acquisition proposals.

The night he suffered a bleeding stomach ulcer, I stayed by his hospital bed until dawn.

When his older half-brother framed him for embezzlement, I personally combed through three years of audits, finding the loopholes that pulled him out of the mud.

He had knelt before me and said, "Victoria, without you, I wouldn't be standing here today."

"Once I take full control of Montgomery Enterprises, I will marry you."

I thought that was a vow.

Instead, in his eyes, I was merely a remarkably useful tool.

Someone who would bleed for him as long as he tossed her a crumb of tenderness.

Celeste tapped on the glass.

"Don't blame me, Victoria."

"I just wanted you to know your place."

She glanced down at Julian, her tone instantly softening into a whimper.

"Julian, you're not mad at me, are you?"

Julian stubbed out his cigarette.

"Don't take it too far."

Celeste immediately pouted.

"How am I taking it too far? You promised me tonight was all about making me happy."

"You said this engagement was just a temporary arrangement anyway."

A temporary arrangement.

Those four words felt like a serrated blade tearing through my chest.

I lifted my head and looked down at Julian. "Is what she said true?"

Julian frowned.

He clearly hadn't expected Celeste to blurt that out in front of everyone.

Yet within seconds, he regained his aloof, detached composure.

"Now that you've heard it, there's no need to hide it."

Soaked to the skin, standing in freezing water, I stared at him.

"So tomorrow's engagement party is a sham, too?"

He answered flatly, "It's not a sham."

"It's an engagement, Victoria, not a marriage certificate."

"You should know better than anyone that a Montgomery marriage cannot be based purely on sentiment."

"Celeste has the Hayes family empire behind her. She's the one who truly belongs by my side."

My nails dug deep into my palms. "Then what was I to you?"

A flash of genuine impatience crossed Julian’s eyes.

"Do you have to make this sound so ugly?"

"I haven't mistreated you these past three years."

"You wanted authority? I made you Executive Vice President."

"You wanted respect? Who in Montgomery Enterprises dared look down on you?"

"As for marriage—I can't give you that, and I don't see the point in lying to you forever."

He spoke with total calm.

As if three years of my blood, sweat, and devotion were fairly compensated by a corporate title.

Celeste leaned affectionately against his shoulder, smiling up at me.

"Know when to be satisfied, Victoria."

"A girl with no family, no pedigree, and no one to back her up? Getting this close to Julian is already the jackpot of your miserable life."

Someone in the crowd chimed in, "Seriously."

"If Julian actually married her, the Montgomery family would be the laughingstock of high society."

"Who cares how smart she is? High-society wives are chosen by bloodline."

"She needs a reality check. At best, she was a foot soldier helping Julian take the throne. Foot soldiers don't get crowned queen."

I looked at the familiar faces below—executives and partners who used to bow and scrape in my boardroom.

When they respected me, they called me Vice President Sterling.

Now, seeing Julian discard me, they couldn't wait to bare their fangs.

A man in a gray suit waved his phone with a smirk.

"Hey, Victoria, want me to snap a few portraits for your memory book?"

"After tomorrow, Miss Hayes will be standing next to Julian."

"Consider tonight your grand finale as the leading lady."

I didn't utter another word.

The paralyzing fear had passed its peak.

When agony reaches its absolute limit, a terrifying clarity takes over.

I reached up and touched my right ear. The stud was still there.

It wasn't ordinary jewelry.

Three months ago, when I first noticed discrepancies in Montgomery Enterprises' accounts, I had my personal security team build me an emergency transponder.

Pressing it three times consecutively would instantly transmit my GPS coordinates and a high-priority distress alert to my personal attorneys, assistant, and private security firm.

Julian had no clue.

He thought I had handed him every card in my deck.

He forgot that someone who clawed her way out of the rubble would never entrust her life entirely to anyone else.

I lowered my head, pretending to choke on the water, and brought my hand to my ear.

One.

Two.

Three.

The earring vibrated faintly against my skin.

The signal was out.