Chapter 1 - THE CALL THAT CHANGED THE ROOM
Dominic answered on the first ring.
“Allie?”
I said nothing for two seconds.
That was all he needed.
“What happened?”
I looked at Tessa.
She was still smiling.
Still enjoying the humiliation.
Still unaware that the man on the phone had quietly kept Brandon’s company alive for nearly four years.
“I’m at the Harrington Grand.”
Dominic’s voice sharpened.
“Brandon’s gala?”
“Yes.”
“With Sophie?”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
I looked toward the private elevators.
“They say his real fiancée and son are upstairs.”
Silence.
Not confusion.
Not disbelief.
The kind of silence Dominic used when he had already begun calculating consequences.
“Who told you?”
“His secretary.”
Tessa crossed her arms.
“Oh, please.”
I turned away from her.
Dominic spoke again.
“Do not leave.”
“I have Sophie.”
“Keep her beside you.”
“What are you doing?”
“Finding out whether Brandon is stupid or suicidal.”
The line ended.
Tessa laughed.
“Was that dramatic enough for you?”
I slipped my phone back into my coat pocket.
“No.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“The dramatic part hasn’t started.”
Sophie tugged my sleeve.
“Mommy, did Daddy forget us?”
I knelt.
My six-year-old daughter was still clutching the paper necklace.
She had spent almost an hour making it.
Blue construction paper.
Yellow stars.
One crooked silver heart.
On the back she had written in giant uneven letters:
BEST DADDY EVER.
I wanted to protect her from the truth for five more minutes.
Maybe five more years.
“He didn’t forget you.”
“Then why can’t we go upstairs?”
Before I could answer, the main entrance opened.
Four men in dark suits entered.
Dominic’s head of security, Caleb Ross, walked directly toward me.
Tessa’s smile vanished.
“Mrs. Hale?”
He never called me that unless outsiders were listening.
“Yes.”
“Mr. Whitmore asked us to escort you and Miss Sophie upstairs.”
Tessa stepped in front of him.
“You cannot do that.”
Caleb looked at her badge.
“Tessa Monroe.”
Her face changed.
“How do you know my name?”
“I know everyone whose access privileges were just suspended.”
“What?”
Caleb held up a tablet.
Tessa looked at the screen.
Her executive badge had been deactivated.
So had three members of Brandon’s corporate security team.
Her voice rose.
“You have no authority here.”
Caleb glanced toward the ceiling.
“Actually, the building’s senior lender does.”
Tessa stared at him.
Dominion Crest Bank owned the debt on Harrington Dynamics’ headquarters expansion.
Nathaniel Whitmore controlled Dominion Crest’s corporate banking division.
She did not know that yet.
Neither did most people.
I took Sophie’s hand.
“We’re going upstairs.”
Tessa grabbed my arm.
Caleb moved instantly.
“Remove your hand.”
She released me.
I looked into her face.
“You should come with us.”
“Why would I?”
“Because if Brandon has another family upstairs, I think you deserve to hear what he calls you when he thinks you’re not in the room.”
For the first time, Tessa looked uncertain.
The elevator doors opened.
Sophie and I stepped inside.
Caleb followed.
Tessa remained outside.
Then curiosity defeated pride.
She entered at the last second.
The doors closed.
As we rose toward the forty-second floor, Caleb’s phone vibrated.
He read one message.
Then handed the screen to me.
Dominic had written:
DO NOT CONFRONT BRANDON YET.
WE FOUND TWO MARRIAGE LICENSES.
I stared at the words.
Two.
Not one.
Then the elevator opened.
Applause thundered from the ballroom.
On the stage stood Brandon.
Beside him was a beautiful blonde woman in a silver gown.
A little boy held her hand.
Behind them, a giant screen displayed six words.
THE FUTURE OF THE HALE FAMILY.
Sophie whispered beside me.
May you like
“Mommy.”
“That’s Daddy.”
