Chapter 1

Four weeks ago, I nearly died at the pregnancy announcement my husband had arranged to celebrate our unborn child.

I was standing at the top of the grand staircase, two months pregnant and waiting for Adrian to share our happiness with everyone, when the chandelier gave way.

There was no warning, no time to scream. One moment I was smiling, and the next, glass and steel came crashing down around me. Then everything disappeared into darkness.

When I began to surface again, I couldn't move. My body felt impossibly heavy, as though I had been buried beneath tons of earth. I couldn't force my eyes open, but somehow, I could hear.

“Why is she still stabilizing?”

Adrian.

My heart gave a faint, hopeful flutter at the sound of his voice. He was here. He had stayed beside me.

Then he spoke again.

“I didn't pay you to keep her alive. I paid you to make sure she never opened her eyes again.”

Every trace of warmth vanished from my heart.

The monitor beside me continued its steady beeping while the doctor struggled to answer him.

“Mr. Whitmore, surviving this was extraordinary. The swelling in her brain—”

“Extraordinary?” Adrian cut him off. “This is a disaster. The board is waiting, the insurance money hasn't been released, and Vanessa is sitting outside waiting for me.”

Vanessa.

My stepsister. My closest friend. The woman who had held my hand and cried with me when I discovered I was pregnant.

Adrian continued, his voice growing colder. “She expects to become a widow, not spend the rest of her life married to a woman who can't even function. Put her back under. Give her enough to stop her heart. I don't care how you do it.”

The doctor went silent.

“That dosage could kill her,” he finally said.

“That is precisely the point.”

My entire world collapsed.

Adrian wasn't trying to save me. He had paid someone to make certain I would never wake up.

“And what about the pregnancy?” he asked casually.

My breath caught.

“The baby?” the doctor clarified.

I strained to hear every word. My child. Please, not my child.

“The impact ended the pregnancy,” the doctor said. “The injuries were severe enough that we had no choice but to perform an emergency hysterectomy. I'm sorry, Mr. Whitmore, but the baby didn't survive. She will never be able to carry another child.”

My baby was dead.

And I would never have another.

The grief that tore through me was more devastating than the chandelier that had crushed my body. I wanted to scream until the walls shook, but my limbs remained useless, my tears trapped behind closed eyes.

Then Adrian laughed.

“Good. I never wanted the child. It was only useful for securing my grandfather's trust fund. Now that the baby is gone and Serena can't have another, there's no reason to keep her around.”

He glanced at the time.

“Make sure she dies, Doctor. Something that looks natural. Heart failure, perhaps. I have dinner with Vanessa, and I'm not going to keep her waiting.”

“I'll need a few minutes to prepare the injection.”

The footsteps faded. The door closed.

For a moment, there was only silence.

Then Adrian approached my bed.

I felt his fingers move a strand of hair away from my forehead, almost tenderly. The gesture made what he said next even more horrifying.

“You were always more trouble than you were worth, Serena. You should have died beneath that chandelier. It would have spared both of us all this.”

A quiet laugh escaped him.

“But you'll be replaced soon enough. Vanessa is already carrying my child, and she'll be a much better Mrs. Whitmore.”

His fingers tapped my cheek before he turned away.

“Goodbye, Serena.”

He walked out, humming as though he had just finished an ordinary conversation.

Terror surged through me.

I had minutes before the doctor returned with the injection that would end my life.

I had to move.

Somehow, I forced every ounce of strength I had into my right hand. Come on. Move.

My finger twitched.

It was barely anything, but it was movement.

I pushed harder. My eyelids fluttered, and harsh hospital light stabbed into my eyes. A dry gasp scraped out of my throat.

The door opened.

The doctor stepped inside with a syringe in his hand. He stopped the instant he saw me awake.

“Mrs. Whitmore?”

I tried to speak, but only a broken rasp came out.

“Please… don't kill me.”

His face drained of color. “I have orders. If Adrian discovers I disobeyed him, he'll destroy me.”

“I'll pay you,” I whispered through my tears. “Whatever he offered, I'll give you more. Twice as much. Three times. Just let me live.”

He looked toward the door.

“You don't understand. Adrian owns this hospital. He owns my career. If you survive, he'll make sure I don't.”

The syringe rose in his trembling hand.

“I'm sorry, Mrs. Whitmore. I promise you won't feel anything.”

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Then—

Bang!

The door slammed against the wall.

“Step away from her.”

The voice was deep, controlled, and terrifyingly calm.

The doctor's hand jerked. The syringe fell, striking the floor and shattering.

I opened my eyes.

A man stood in the doorway, dressed in a charcoal suit, his presence commanding enough to make the entire room feel smaller.

Damien Blackwood.

Adrian's most feared rival. The billionaire I had rejected three years ago when I chose Adrian instead.

The man whose heart I had broken so I could marry the man who had just tried to kill me.

“M-Mr. Blackwood?” The doctor stumbled backward. “This area is restricted. You can't—”

“Leave.”

Damien's gaze dropped briefly to the broken syringe.

“Unless you'd prefer I help you discover how sharp those pieces are.”

The doctor didn't need to be told twice. He rushed past Damien and disappeared down the corridor.

Damien shut the door behind him and locked it.

His eyes traveled over the IVs, the bruises covering my body, and finally settled on my face.

“Look at what he did to you.”

His voice softened.

“I warned you Adrian was a snake, Serena. You simply chose not to believe me.”

Shame burned through me, and I turned my face away.

“Did you come here to remind me that you were right?”

“No.”

He stepped closer and gently wiped a tear from my cheek. His hand was surprisingly warm against my skin.

“I came because I have something to offer you.”

I stared at him.

“What kind of offer?”

A faint, dangerous smile touched his mouth.

“Adrian believes you're going to die tonight. He's already preparing for your funeral, and while he does, he's celebrating with your sister.”

Anger replaced the fear in my chest.

“What do you want from me?”

Damien held out his hand.

“You rejected me once, Serena. I have no intention of giving you the chance to do it twice.”

His eyes held mine.

“Marry me. Become my wife, and I'll give you everything you need to bring Adrian Whitmore to his knees.”