My Broke Husband Is A Hidden Tycoon

rep table, a harsh, insistent vibration that c

roze in the mound of

owed with a venomous fam

in her gut, one she'd known for years. She wiped her floured hands on h

a, her best friend and the owner of the bake

doing nothing to calm the frantic beat of her heart. She leaned against a sack of flour, the coo

el

oice was a gravelly bark

"Hello, Frank. It's nice

lyn. The money. For the house

voice weary. She'd had this exact conversation a

formula! You think that stuff is cheap? Your brother's kid is going to sta

at the TV. Another lie. It was always another lie. A wave of nausea washed over her, so strong she had to press

he promised, the words tasting

a relief, but it was heavy, filled with the weight of her impossible situation. She slid down

began to even out, t

bt collector Frank had sicced on her. She almost igno

el

le, older, with a crisp, elegant accent that felt out of

e," Evelyn

ct and businesslike. "I understand you are in a difficult

"I'm not interested in whatever yo

r voice. "I was given your name by a Mr. Petrov. A spiritual advisor

ic? "You've got the wrong pers

can solve all of your financial problems. I can giv

key turning in a lock she thought was rusted shut. S

ee

Evelyn asked, her vo

y my grandson,

bsurd, so utterly insane, that for a moment she th

g her shock. "My grandson requires a wife to appease certain family and business

A sum of money so large it made Evelyn's head spin. Enough to pay back ever

fe-the constant calls, the draining of her soul, the endless servitude-was a prison. She thought of her little niece, Chloe, th

the chains for good, became a

ve to do?" she asked,

sigh. "Go to City Hall this afternoon. I wi

la, asked for the rest of the day off, and mumbled a vague excuse about a family

enter, the screaming of the train

City Hall. A woman in a perfectly tailored Chanel suit-Margaret-stood beside a

n To

the color of a stormy sea. The way he looked at her wasn't that of a future bride, but rather th

e ceremony, barely glancing at it as the thick document was pushed in front of her-and the rings-the simple gold ring Margaret had produced-were exchanged. Ev

r marriage, there was no kiss

's hand. The numbers printed on it made her heart

rgaret said, her voice kind but firm. "You s

rtificate and the check tightly

longer as their daughter, no longer as their ATM,

beer and fried food wafted out. Frank and Kyle sat on the sofa, empty beer cans scatte

ce twisted into a mocking expression. He sla

yes gleaming with greed. "Did you think thi

back, now sound hollow and powerless.