THE MAFIAs BROKEN BRIDE

His Trophy Wife, The Apex Predator

Eydie Pfefferle

My husband of three years, Arthur Vanderbilt, came home smelling of his mistress's perfume and threw divorce papers on our marble kitchen island. He demanded I sign away all rights to our assets for a five-million-dollar "severance," calling me a leech his family picked up from the suburbs to solve a temporary PR crisis. When I refused and demanded my four percent equity in the Vanderbilt Group, he and his mistress, Serena, launched a vicious smear campaign. They planted false stories on Wall Street forums, accusing me of laundering money for an Eastern European crime syndicate. They tried to force my hand with a check for five hundred million, which I tore up and threw in his face. To them, I was just a trophy wife they could easily discard. They had no idea that the "leech" they so despised was the anonymous investor who had secretly bailed out their entire company three years ago, saving them from bankruptcy. Their final move was to hire an actress to publicly accuse me of fraud in the lobby of the most powerful law firm in Manhattan. They didn't realize I was there to retain the firm's most ruthless lawyer. After security threw them out, I looked my replacement in the eye and made her a promise. "Prepare for an FBI probe into perjury and corporate defamation."

Modern Revenge

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Lucy Taylor adjusted her coat as the cold wind of New York whipped across her face. The large, marble steps leading up to Ashcroft Enterprises were as intimidating as the man she was about to meet.

"Are you sure about this, Lucy?" Jackson Taylor, her father, asked for the hundredth time.

Lucy gave him a quick nod, though her heart was sinking with every step closer to the towering building. "I don't have much choice, Dad. We need this."

Jackson's face was worn with guilt. "I should have managed things better."

"No, Dad. It's not your fault," Lucy reassured him. "Isabel... she..."

She trailed off, the reminder of her stepsister's greed choking her words. Isabel had backed out of the arranged marriage at the last minute when she discovered that the young billionaire CEO, William Ashcroft, was bound to a wheelchair. Now, the burden fell to Lucy.

Lucy didn't want to be here. She wasn't prepared to be anyone's wife, let alone William's. But after Isabel's refusal, William had given them an ultimatum: either one of the Carson sisters married him, or he'd make sure their father's business collapsed entirely.

The deal was too good for her family to pass up-and too awful for Lucy to ignore.

"Just go in and be yourself," Jackson encouraged. "This isn't about you. It's about the family."

Lucy nodded again, though doubt gnawed at her. She wasn't sure she could do this. But her father's hopeful expression gave her the push she needed. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside the towering skyscraper, feeling like she was walking into a lion's den.

The elevator ride to the top floor was long, giving her too much time to second-guess herself. She could still back out. She could run. But where would that leave her family? She straightened her back, reminding herself of the task at hand.

As the elevator doors slid open, she was greeted by the sight of a vast office with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Manhattan. And there, in the center of it all, sat William Ashcroft.

The first thing she noticed was his eyes-cold, piercing blue that seemed to see straight through her. He was even more handsome in person than the pictures in the magazines had suggested. His brown hair was neatly styled, and he exuded power even while seated in a wheelchair.

"So," William said without preamble, "you're the replacement."

Lucy flinched slightly at the bluntness of his words but quickly recovered. "I suppose I am."

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound very enthusiastic."

"I didn't come here for myself," Lucy replied, her voice steady. "I came for my family."

There was a long pause as William studied her. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't say anything immediately. Finally, he spoke again, his tone clipped. "I'm not interested in love. I assume you know that."

Lucy nodded. "I understand."

"Good." He leaned back in his chair, looking almost bored. "This is a marriage of convenience, nothing more. You do your part, and I'll do mine. Keep up appearances. Attend functions with me. Beyond that, we don't need to interact more than necessary."

The coldness in his voice was almost palpable, but Lucy had been prepared for this. She knew this wasn't about romance or affection-it was about survival, for both of them.

"I can do that," she agreed, keeping her voice as neutral as possible.

William's gaze sharpened. "You're different from your sister."

Lucy clenched her jaw, fighting back the bitterness that rose at the mention of Isabel. "Yes, I am."

"Isabel was shallow," he continued, his tone disdainful. "She wanted my money and my status. But she didn't have the guts to follow through when she saw me."

"I'm not Isabel," Lucy said firmly, her eyes meeting his.

William gave her a long, assessing look before nodding slightly. "We'll see."

There was a brief silence, and Lucy used it to gather her thoughts. She couldn't let him see how nervous she was. This marriage wasn't about her feelings, and it wasn't about William's either. It was about saving her father's company, about keeping her family afloat in a sea of debt.

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