igh-rise. The city was a blur of noise and motion, yellow cabs and hurried businessmen. She pulled her ove
had to undo the mess of t
phone from her pocket and dialed her father's
th fury, exploded through the receiver. "What the hell did you do, Cayla? Harvey
, her voice raw. "You locked me in tha
se or concern. "Sacrifices have to be made for the
threatened, her voice trembling with a rage that was quickly dissolving in
e casualness of his voice more terrifying than his shouting. "By the way, your
an bumped into her shoulder, muttering an curs
his voice a silken threat, "I'm afraid I'll have to cut off the paymen
other was the only person in the world who had ever shown her unconditional love. The only family sh
hun
her ear, a flat, final
wn into a crouch on the dirty pavement. She buried her face in her hands, her body
tly to the curb, its engine a low, powerful hu
indow rolled down
the dashboard lights. He wasn't looking at her, but straight ahead,
n't loud, but it cut through the traffic nois
nd was chilling her to the bone, and the weight of her father's
. The door closed with a solid, satisfying thud, instantly silencing the city noise. The car sm
l sign them," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "W
la folder from his leather briefcase and dropped
ning to a private, long-term care facility. One of the best on the Eas
disorienting, replaced her despair. "W
a long, elegant finger on the folder in her lap. "Her continued
The pages were filled with dense, impenetrable legal jargon, but the letter
multi-billion dollar medical trust that is contingent on my being married. You will play the part of a devoted, loving wife whenever you are in public or in the presence of my fam
mmediate financial ruin, a lawsuit so massive it would crush her, and,
he one person sh
gers brushed against hers as she took it, and a
ce. There had nev
name on the last page of the document, pressing down so hard that the shar
devil. And he hadn't even had the
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