He didn’t even look up when I walked in. Just sat there with that smug grin, like he owned the room and everyone in it. “Listen,” he said. “I never wanted to marry you.
Let’s get one thing straight—I only love Louis. ”
I laughed. “Then get a divorce. ”
“You’re in no position to divorce me,” he said.
“Or have you forgotten? Your family still owes Sterling five hundred million dollars. We’re fronting the bill. So you better listen to what I have to say and give me a baby so we can get the fortune—or your family’s doomed.
”
I felt the floor give way under me. This was the deal I’d signed up for, the one my mother made me accept. Marry Henry Sterling, pay off my family’s debt, produce an heir. I was nothing but a womb with a wedding ring.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll do it. But I’m not lying down for some random man you pick out of the audience. ”
“Good.
So that’s why you’re keeping me,” he said. “You want cash, and I want a good time. Sounds like a great deal to me. ”
“You think I’m broke?
”
“Aren’t you? ”
I felt my jaw tighten. “I hope you won’t regret this. ”
“I don’t regret anything.
”
Henry was true to his word. He made it clear from the start that I was a business arrangement, not a wife. He had Louis, that slim, pretty secretary, wrapped around his arm and in his bed, and I had nothing but the Sterling name and a mountain of debt. My mother didn’t care about any of that.
She just wanted grandchildren and the fortune that came with them. “You have a face and a body, and with my help you still lost to a guy,” she said. “Unbelievable. We have a deal, right?
Once you give Henry a child, your debts to the Sterling family are clear. So just go for it. Work a little harder for it. ”
That was the thing about my marriage—it was never really mine.
Henry and I were strangers who shared a last name. He didn’t touch me. He didn’t want to. The only thing he wanted from me was a baby with his bloodline, a baby I couldn’t produce alone.
So Henry did what Henry always did. He fixed it with money. “I got you North America’s top six escorts,” he said, shoving a card into my hand. “Have fun.
”
I stared at him. “You did this? ”
“What? You think I could do it all by myself?
” He laughed. “Stop daydreaming, Fiona. ”
My name in his mouth sounded like an insult. I wanted to throw the card in his face, but I couldn’t.
I needed an heir, and he was making it clear I’d get one his way or not at all. The address led me to a penthouse over the city. Inside, five men waited, each one more polished than the last. I walked past them, sizing them up, then stopped.
“Choose me,” one of them said. I looked at him. There was something different in his eyes, a confidence that didn’t feel rehearsed. “You’re number six,” I said.
“Better late than never. ”
I wrote him a check on the spot. One hundred thousand dollars. No strings attached.
“Your husband cool with this? ” he asked. “He’s the one who sent me here. ”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Now I’m impressed. ”
From that night on, my life split into two parts. There was the fake one—smiling next to Henry at gala dinners, pretending the scent of Louis’s cologne on his collar didn’t turn my stomach. And then there was the real one, the one I paid for.
He didn’t have a name. He didn’t offer one, and I didn’t ask. He was just a beautiful way to pass the hours, a body with a price tag. We met in hotels, in his apartment, in the back of cars.
I told myself I was using him, the way Henry used Louis, the way everyone used everyone in my world. But he saw through me. “We’re a relationship like ours,” he said one night, guiding me through his front door. “is just asking to get caught.
”
“A relationship like ours? ” I asked. “Tell me—what kind of relationship is that, exactly? ”
“My couch for your body.
”
I laughed, but it caught in my throat. “Everything is laid out in the contract. In this card is your pay. ”
He took the card without looking at it.
“Contract. Right. Night shifts only. Works for me.
I have daytime clients too, you know. ”
“You’re not really seeing other people, are you? ”
He went quiet. “Let’s just forget I said that.
”
“If we’re going to make this work,” I said, sliding the contract toward him, “you need to cut off all your other customers. I’m paying a lot, and I don’t share. That works for you, you sign. ”
He looked at me for a long moment, then signed.
It should have been that simple. But nothing in this family was ever that simple. The phone rang while he was still in my bed. Henry’s name flashed on the screen.
“What do you want? ” I answered. “My mother’s having a charity gala tomorrow,” he said. “You’re coming with.
”
“Fine. ”
I hung up and turned back to the man beside me. “What are you doing? ” he asked, watching me pull the sheets up.
“Just working on your future inheritance. ” I smiled. “Aren’t you excited to have a kid that isn’t yours? ”
He didn’t smile back.
“You think this would make me jealous? ”
“Mhm. ”
“You know what? ” he said, sitting up.
“If I wasn’t a man, I would never have married you. ”
The words landed harder than I expected. “What? ”
“You heard me.
”
“You know what, Louis? ” I said, mocking the name I’d heard so many times on Henry’s lips. “If I wasn’t a woman, I would never have married you either. ”
I hung up before he could answer.
The gala was a spectacle. Velvet gowns, crystal chandeliers, the entire Sterling family out in force. Henry’s mother trapped me by the dessert table, her smile sharp as a blade. “Your father is not doing well,” she said.
“Deadly. If you don’t bring a kid, your half-brother will get everything. This charity event is meant for us to hook the Gambino family, and you better help your father tonight. ”
“Don’t worry,” I said.
“The Sterling fortune is safe. It won’t end up in that bastard’s hands. ”
Satisfied, she floated off to command someone else. I was left alone with the truth I’d been carrying for weeks—the truth I hadn’t told anyone, not even the man I paid to give me a child.
I found Henry in the garden. He wasn’t alone. Louis was in his arms, the two of them pressed together under the moonlight, Henry’s hands in the man’s hair. Anyone else might have been shocked.
I was just tired. “Fiona,” Henry said, pulling back, straightening his jacket. “Don’t mind me,” I said. “Just checking the flowers.
”
But the scene didn’t go unnoticed. Smoke over the garden wall, movement behind the hedge. Word got back to Henry’s father, and the banquet was cut short. “You’re an absolute disgrace,” his father spat in the study.
“How on earth did the Sterling family wind up with a piece of work like you? ”
“Dad—” Henry tried. “On the day of the most important Sterling family banquet of the year? In front of the Don himself?
”
He turned to me. “And you, Fiona—is this how you control your husband? ”
“I didn’t know he was gay. ”
Henry’s face went white.
“You knew. ”
“I knew you loved Louis, but I didn’t know what you were at night. ”
The room fell silent. Then Henry’s father did something I’d never seen him do.
He called for his men. “Bring him in. ”
Louis was dragged in, his suit torn, his face pale. Henry’s father grabbed him by the collar.
“You filthy little piece of work. You ruined my son. ”
“Get off of him! ” Henry shouted, pushing between them.
“You forced me to marry Fiona,” Henry said, his voice cracking. “The only one I ever truly loved was Louis. Everything I’ve ever done was for the Sterling family, but loving him pushed me to the edge, and you can’t see it. ”
“You will cut off ties with him immediately,” his father said.
“You go home with Fiona, and you give me a grandson. ”
“Dad, you’re losing your mind. I’m leaving. ”
“Henry, wait.
Don’t leave! ”
But he was gone. And I was left in the wreckage of a marriage I never asked for, with a husband who’d rather be anywhere but with me. That night, the man I paid came to me.
He found me sitting on the floor of my empty bedroom, the ring I’d bought at the auction—my mother’s ring—still on my finger. “Don,” I said, not looking up. “I’m not in the mood. ”
“I’m not here for that,” he said, sitting down next to me.
“I’m here because I heard what happened. ”
“Then you know everything. ”
“I know your husband is a coward,” he said. “And I know he doesn’t deserve you.
”
I laughed, bitter. “You don’t know anything about me. ”
“I know you’re the only person in this entire family who isn’t lying,” he said. “And I know you’re carrying his child.
”
I froze. “How did you—? ”
“You keep your hand on your stomach when you think I’m not looking. ”
The words hung in the air between us.
I had been carrying Henry’s child for a month now—a child I’d never planned for, never wanted. It was supposed to be an exit strategy, my way out of the Sterling debt. But now that I was holding it inside me, I wasn’t sure I could use my own baby as a bargaining chip. “I thought if I had this child, I could pay off my debts,” I said quietly.
“But if it doesn’t work, then I’m just dragging the baby down with me. ”
“Fiona,” he said, his voice soft. “Listen to me. You’re not going to drag anyone down.
You’re going to get out of this. You’re going to get out, and you’re going to be free. ”
“And you? ” I asked.
“What do you get out of it? ”
He didn’t answer. He just reached out and took my hand. “Don’t say anything,” he said.
“Just hold me. ”
The pieces started falling into place the way they always did in this family—through money, through secrets, through leverage. I had shares. DiaQuant shares, worth a fortune after the Gambino family acquired the company.
I’d invested in them with the money my husband had been paying me for months, and they’d only gone up. Now they were worth more than my debt. Now I could buy my way out. But Henry’s father wasn’t going to make it easy.
“There’ll be no divorce,” he said when I brought it up. “What about you? You have someone on the side as well. Why can’t we just do our own thing and be fine?
”
“Henry and I have been strangers for four years,” I said. “I had an affair, but that was with his permission. This agreement is well overdue. ”
“Not a chance.
Let me remind you, you still owe the Sterling family five hundred million dollars. ”
“You know as well as I do that my profits far exceed that amount. ”
“So what? ” he snapped.
“You did all that willingly. Without us, you’d be scraping the slums. Now if you want a divorce, you pay back the five hundred million and I’ll have Henry sign it right now. Or you can give him a child.
How about that? ”
“In your dreams. ”
“Fine, then. Pay back the five hundred million in three days.
Miss Shaw. ”
“Fine,” I said, the word tasting like ash. “I’ll pay off my debt, and you’ll sign the agreement. ”
I went to find the only person I could trust.
But when I reached his apartment, he wasn’t there. I waited. I called. Nothing.
And then I found out why. The Gambino family had been watching me for months. Not as a threat—as a target. The man I’d been paying to be my lover, the man who had learned my secrets, who had held me when the truth about Henry came out—he wasn’t just an escort.
He was the Don. “You lied to me,” I said, finding him in a private room at the club, his face unreadable. “You lied again. ”
“I wasn’t sure,” he said.
“I didn’t want to be a burden if I wasn’t sure of your true feelings. ”
“You love me,” he said. “You lied too. Right?
”
“What if I’m not done? ” I asked. “What if I’m just a paid escort? ”
“Then I would be foolish enough to sell all of my shares,” he said.
“Spend my money on you until I have none. Then I would be able to say I fed you with everything I had. ”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.
I just stood there, trembling with the weight of everything I’d learned. “Don’t cry, baby,” he said, pulling me into his arms. “Don’t cry anymore. I wasn’t sure.
I didn’t want to put this on you if I wasn’t sure you felt the same. Now that I know—now we’re clear. ”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that this was real, that I wasn’t just another transaction to him, another woman paying for a place to lay her head.
But the Sterling family wasn’t done with me yet. They cornered me in the hospital parking lot, right after my check-up with the doctor. “Fiona,” Henry said, his face pale. “I need you to come home.
”
“Home? ” I laughed. “I don’t have a home. I have a contract.
”
“Please,” he said. “My father is dying. And you—you’re pregnant with my child. We can make this work.
We can—we can do our own thing, stay married, keep the fortune. I’ll never touch you, I promise. Just—don’t divorce me. ”
“You want me to keep living like this?
” I asked. “In a marriage that’s nothing but a prison? ”
“It doesn’t have to be a prison,” he said, desperation cracking his voice. “We can have each other and our own lives.
Just—say you’ll stay. Say you’ll keep the baby. ”
“The baby isn’t yours to command,” I said. “And neither am I.
”
I turned and walked away, the sound of his apologies chasing me down the street. Back at the club, I found the Don waiting. I didn’t say anything. I just walked up to him, unbuttoned my coat, and let the papers fall.
“Sterling Group stock plummeted overnight,” I said. “They’re desperate. They want to sell me back into the family. ”
“What do you want to do?
” he asked. “I want to finish this,” I said. “I want you to take the Sterlings down. ”
His eyes were steady.
“And who’s going to take you down? ”
“No one is going to take me down,” I said. “I’m going to take the whole world down with me. ”
The Don’s hand closed around mine.
“Then we’ll do it together. ”
The confrontation happened at the Sterling estate, in front of the whole family. Gabe, Henry’s father, looked old and broken, his face gray with rage. “How dare you, Fiona!
” he screamed. “How dare you soil this family’s name! ”
“Soil the name? ” I laughed.
“You did that years ago. You built your empire on the bones of my family. My mother died, and you took what she left behind. You stole my life and handed it to Henry.
”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about! ”
“I know more than you think,” I said. “I know about the deal you made with the Gambino family. I know about the shares.
I know about everything. ”
“You—” his voice caught. “You have no idea what it took to keep this family together. ”
“You don’t care about this family,” I said.
“You care about your name, your fortune, your legacy. You don’t care who you destroy to keep it. ”
I turned to Henry. He looked like a stranger, the man I’d never loved, the man I’d been bound to for four years.
“I’m done,” I said. “I’m done with the Sterlings. I’m done with this marriage. And I’m done pretending it was anything other than a prison.
”
“Fiona, please,” Henry said. “Have mercy. ”
“You want mercy? ” I asked.
“Then sign the papers. Divorce me. Let me go. ”
“I can’t,” he said.
“If I sign, I lose everything. ”
“You lost everything the day you handed me over to those escorts,” I said. “That’s the moment we stopped being married. That’s the moment you stopped being my husband.
”
The Don stepped forward, a sheaf of papers in his hand. “Sign,” he said. “Or watch the Sterling empire burn. ”
Gabe lunged for him, but two security guards caught him and held him in place.
“You can’t do this! ” he screamed. “This family—we made you! Without us, you’d be nothing!
”
“Without me,” I said quietly, “you’d already be in prison. ”
The room fell silent. The Don’s hand pressed into mine. “All right,” I said, looking at Gabe.
“You want to talk about what I ‘owe’ this family? Let’s talk about the four years I spent as your servant, your hostage, your broodmare. Let’s talk about the way you destroyed my mother and stole my birthright. Let’s talk about the way you forced me to marry your son, knowing he would never love me, knowing I would be nothing more than a rented womb to carry the next Sterling.
”
“You didn’t have to marry Henry,” Gabe spat. “You chose that debt. ”
“I chose to save my remaining family,” I said. “You gave me no other option.
”
“So this is what it comes to? ” Gabe asked, hatred burning in his eyes. “You’re just a whore with a price tag? ”
I smiled, slow and cold.
“I learned it from the best. ”
The Don raised his hand, about to give the order that would end everything. But before he could, there was a commotion at the door. “Fiona!
”
It was Henry. He stood in the doorway, his face twisted with fury and desperation. “You—you destroyed me,” he said, his voice shaking. “You ruined everything.
”
“I didn’t ruin anything,” I said. “I just stopped pretending. ”
“You don’t deserve to be happy,” he spat. “You don’t deserve to get away with this.
I want you dead. I want—I want you to feel what I feel. ”
He reached into his jacket. Everything after that happened too fast.
The Don moved, putting himself between me and Henry. There was a loud noise, like a gunshot, and then the whole world had gone silent. I don’t remember falling. I just remember waking up in a hospital bed, the Don’s hand around mine.
“You’re safe now,” he said. “That’s what matters. ”
“Henry—? ”
“He’s gone,” he said.
“You don’t have to think about him anymore. ”
I felt something warm on my stomach. His hand, resting there. “The baby?
” I asked. “The baby’s fine,” he said, his voice rough. “Just like its mother. ”
I closed my eyes.
The weight of everything I’d carried for four years finally eased, just a little. “When I’m well,” I said, “I’m going to do something for him. ”
The Don looked at me. “What?
”
“I’m going to give him a surprise,” I said, a smile touching my lips for the first time in what felt like forever. “The best one yet. ”
His hand tightened around mine. “I told you.
No more tears. ”
“No more tears,” I echoed. And for the first time in four years, I believed it. CONTENT:
He didn’t even look up when I walked in.
Just sat there with that smug grin, like he owned the room and everyone in it. “Listen,” he said. “I never wanted to marry you. Let’s get one thing straight—I only love Louis.
”
I laughed. “Then get a divorce. ”
“You’re in no position to divorce me,” he said. “Or have you forgotten?
Your family still owes Sterling five hundred million dollars. We’re fronting the bill. So you better listen to what I have to say and give me a baby so we can get the fortune—or your family’s doomed. ”
I felt the floor give way under me.
This was the deal I’d signed up for, the one my mother made me accept. Marry Henry Sterling, pay off my family’s debt, produce an heir. I was nothing but a womb with a wedding ring. “Fine,” I said.
“I’ll do it. But I’m not lying down for some random man you pick out of the audience. ”
“Good. So that’s why you’re keeping me,” he said.
“You want cash, and I want a good time. Sounds like a great deal to me. ”
“You think I’m broke? ”
“Aren’t you?
”
I felt my jaw tighten. “I hope you won’t regret this. ”
“I don’t regret anything. ”
Henry was true to his word.
He made it clear from the start that I was a business arrangement, not a wife. He had Louis, that slim, pretty secretary, wrapped around his arm and in his bed, and I had nothing but the Sterling name and a mountain of debt. My mother didn’t care about any of that. She just wanted grandchildren and the fortune that came with them.
“You have a face and a body, and with my help you still lost to a guy,” she said. “Unbelievable. We have a deal, right? Once you give Henry a child, your debts to the Sterling family are clear.
So just go for it. Work a little harder for it. ”
That was the thing about my marriage—it was never really mine. Henry and I were strangers who shared a last name.
He didn’t touch me. He didn’t want to. The only thing he wanted from me was a baby with his bloodline, a baby I couldn’t produce alone. So Henry did what Henry always did.
He fixed it with money. “I got you North America’s top six escorts,” he said, shoving a card into my hand. “Have fun. ”
I stared at him.
“You did this? ”
“What? You think I could do it all by myself? ” He laughed.
“Stop daydreaming, Fiona. ”
My name in his mouth sounded like an insult. I wanted to throw the card in his face, but I couldn’t. I needed an heir, and he was making it clear I’d get one his way or not at all.
The address led me to a penthouse over the city. Inside, five men waited, each one more polished than the last. I walked past them, sizing them up, then stopped. “Choose me,” one of them said.
I looked at him. There was something different in his eyes, a confidence that didn’t feel rehearsed. “You’re number six,” I said. “Better late than never.
”
I wrote him a check on the spot. One hundred thousand dollars. No strings attached. “Your husband cool with this?
” he asked. “He’s the one who sent me here. ”
He raised an eyebrow. “Now I’m impressed.
”
From that night on, my life split into two parts. There was the fake one—smiling next to Henry at gala dinners, pretending the scent of Louis’s cologne on his collar didn’t turn my stomach. And then there was the real one, the one I paid for. He didn’t have a name.
He didn’t offer one, and I didn’t ask. He was just a beautiful way to pass the hours, a body with a price tag. We met in hotels, in his apartment, in the back of cars. I told myself I was using him, the way Henry used Louis, the way everyone used everyone in my world.
But he saw through me. “We’re a relationship like ours,” he said one night, guiding me through his front door. “is just asking to get caught. ”
“A relationship like ours?
” I asked. “Tell me—what kind of relationship is that, exactly? ”
“My couch for your body. ”
I laughed, but it caught in my throat.
“Everything is laid out in the contract. In this card is your pay. ”
He took the card without looking at it. “Contract.
Right. Night shifts only. Works for me. I have daytime clients too, you know.
”
“You’re not really seeing other people, are you? ”
He went quiet. “Let’s just forget I said that. ”
“If we’re going to make this work,” I said, sliding the contract toward him, “you need to cut off all your other customers.
I’m paying a lot, and I don’t share. That works for you, you sign. ”
He looked at me for a long moment, then signed. It should have been that simple.
But nothing in this family was ever that simple. The phone rang while he was still in my bed. Henry’s name flashed on the screen. “What do you want?
” I answered. “My mother’s having a charity gala tomorrow,” he said. “You’re coming with. ”
“Fine.
”
I hung up and turned back to the man beside me. “What are you doing? ” he asked, watching me pull the sheets up. “Just working on your future inheritance.
” I smiled. “Aren’t you excited to have a kid that isn’t yours? ”
He didn’t smile back. “You think this would make me jealous?
”
“Mhm. ”
“You know what? ” he said, sitting up. “If I wasn’t a man, I would never have married you.
”
The words landed harder than I expected. “What? ”
“You heard me. ”
“You know what, Louis?
” I said, mocking the name I’d heard so many times on Henry’s lips. “If I wasn’t a woman, I would never have married you either. ”
I hung up before he could answer. The gala was a spectacle.
Velvet gowns, crystal chandeliers, the entire Sterling family out in force. Henry’s mother trapped me by the dessert table, her smile sharp as a blade. “Your father is not doing well,” she said. “Deadly.
If you don’t bring a kid, your half-brother will get everything. This charity event is meant for us to hook the Gambino family, and you better help your father tonight. ”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “The Sterling fortune is safe.
It won’t end up in that bastard’s hands. ”
Satisfied, she floated off to command someone else. I was left alone with the truth I’d been carrying for weeks—the truth I hadn’t told anyone, not even the man I paid to give me a child. I found Henry in the garden.
He wasn’t alone. Louis was in his arms, the two of them pressed together under the moonlight, Henry’s hands in the man’s hair. Anyone else might have been shocked. I was just tired.
“Fiona,” Henry said, pulling back, straightening his jacket. “Don’t mind me,” I said. “Just checking the flowers. ”
But the scene didn’t go unnoticed.
Smoke over the garden wall, movement behind the hedge. Word got back to Henry’s father, and the banquet was cut short. “You’re an absolute disgrace,” his father spat in the study. “How on earth did the Sterling family wind up with a piece of work like you?
”
“Dad—” Henry tried. “On the day of the most important Sterling family banquet of the year? In front of the Don himself? ”
He turned to me.
“And you, Fiona—is this how you control your husband? ”
“I didn’t know he was gay. ”
Henry’s face went white. “You knew.
”
“I knew you loved Louis, but I didn’t know what you were at night. ”
The room fell silent. Then Henry’s father did something I’d never seen him do. He called for his men.
“Bring him in. ”
Louis was dragged in, his suit torn, his face pale. Henry’s father grabbed him by the collar. “You filthy little piece of work.
You ruined my son. ”
“Get off of him! ” Henry shouted, pushing between them. “You forced me to marry Fiona,” Henry said, his voice cracking.
“The only one I ever truly loved was Louis. Everything I’ve ever done was for the Sterling family, but loving him pushed me to the edge, and you can’t see it. ”
“You will cut off ties with him immediately,” his father said. “You go home with Fiona, and you give me a grandson.
”
“Dad, you’re losing your mind. I’m leaving. ”
“Henry, wait. Don’t leave!
”
But he was gone. And I was left in the wreckage of a marriage I never asked for, with a husband who’d rather be anywhere but with me. That night, the man I paid came to me. He found me sitting on the floor of my empty bedroom, the ring I’d bought at the auction—my mother’s ring—still on my finger.
“Don,” I said, not looking up. “I’m not in the mood. ”
“I’m not here for that,” he said, sitting down next to me. “I’m here because I heard what happened.
”
“Then you know everything. ”
“I know your husband is a coward,” he said. “And I know he doesn’t deserve you. ”
I laughed, bitter.
“You don’t know anything about me. ”
“I know you’re the only person in this entire family who isn’t lying,” he said. “And I know you’re carrying his child. ”
I froze.
“How did you—? ”
“You keep your hand on your stomach when you think I’m not looking. ”
The words hung in the air between us. I had been carrying Henry’s child for a month now—a child I’d never planned for, never wanted.
It was supposed to be an exit strategy, my way out of the Sterling debt. But now that I was holding it inside me, I wasn’t sure I could use my own baby as a bargaining chip. “I thought if I had this child, I could pay off my debts,” I said quietly. “But if it doesn’t work, then I’m just dragging the baby down with me.
”
“Fiona,” he said, his voice soft. “Listen to me. You’re not going to drag anyone down. You’re going to get out of this.
You’re going to get out, and you’re going to be free. ”
“And you? ” I asked. “What do you get out of it?
”
He didn’t answer. He just reached out and took my hand. “Don’t say anything,” he said. “Just hold me.
”
The pieces started falling into place the way they always did in this family—through money, through secrets, through leverage. I had shares. DiaQuant shares, worth a fortune after the Gambino family acquired the company. I’d invested in them with the money my husband had been paying me for months, and they’d only gone up.
Now they were worth more than my debt. Now I could buy my way out. But Henry’s father wasn’t going to make it easy. “There’ll be no divorce,” he said when I brought it up.
“What about you? You have someone on the side as well. Why can’t we just do our own thing and be fine? ”
“Henry and I have been strangers for four years,” I said.
“I had an affair, but that was with his permission. This agreement is well overdue. ”
“Not a chance. Let me remind you, you still owe the Sterling family five hundred million dollars.
”
“You know as well as I do that my profits far exceed that amount. ”
“So what? ” he snapped. “You did all that willingly.
Without us, you’d be scraping the slums. Now if you want a divorce, you pay back the five hundred million and I’ll have Henry sign it right now. Or you can give him a child. How about that?
”
“In your dreams. ”
“Fine, then. Pay back the five hundred million in three days. Miss Shaw.
”
“Fine,” I said, the word tasting like ash. “I’ll pay off my debt, and you’ll sign the agreement. ”
I went to find the only person I could trust. But when I reached his apartment, he wasn’t there.
I waited. I called. Nothing. And then I found out why.
The Gambino family had been watching me for months. Not as a threat—as a target. The man I’d been paying to be my lover, the man who had learned my secrets, who had held me when the truth about Henry came out—he wasn’t just an escort. He was the Don.
“You lied to me,” I said, finding him in a private room at the club, his face unreadable. “You lied again. ”
“I wasn’t sure,” he said. “I didn’t want to be a burden if I wasn’t sure of your true feelings.
”
“You love me,” he said. “You lied too. Right? ”
“What if I’m not done?
” I asked. “What if I’m just a paid escort? ”
“Then I would be foolish enough to sell all of my shares,” he said. “Spend my money on you until I have none.
Then I would be able to say I fed you with everything I had. ”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I just stood there, trembling with the weight of everything I’d learned.
“Don’t cry, baby,” he said, pulling me into his arms. “Don’t cry anymore. I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to put this on you if I wasn’t sure you felt the same.
Now that I know—now we’re clear. ”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that this was real, that I wasn’t just another transaction to him, another woman paying for a place to lay her head. But the Sterling family wasn’t done with me yet.
They cornered me in the hospital parking lot, right after my check-up with the doctor. “Fiona,” Henry said, his face pale. “I need you to come home. ”
“Home?
” I laughed. “I don’t have a home. I have a contract. ”
“Please,” he said.
“My father is dying. And you—you’re pregnant with my child. We can make this work. We can—we can do our own thing, stay married, keep the fortune.
I’ll never touch you, I promise. Just—don’t divorce me. ”
“You want me to keep living like this? ” I asked.
“In a marriage that’s nothing but a prison? ”
“It doesn’t have to be a prison,” he said, desperation cracking his voice. “We can have each other and our own lives. Just—say you’ll stay.
Say you’ll keep the baby. ”
“The baby isn’t yours to command,” I said. “And neither am I. ”
I turned and walked away, the sound of his apologies chasing me down the street.
Back at the club, I found the Don waiting. I didn’t say anything. I just walked up to him, unbuttoned my coat, and let the papers fall. “Sterling Group stock plummeted overnight,” I said.
“They’re desperate. They want to sell me back into the family. ”
“What do you want to do? ” he asked.
“I want to finish this,” I said. “I want you to take the Sterlings down. ”
His eyes were steady. “And who’s going to take you down?
”
“No one is going to take me down,” I said. “I’m going to take the whole world down with me. ”
The Don’s hand closed around mine. “Then we’ll do it together.
”
The confrontation happened at the Sterling estate, in front of the whole family. Gabe, Henry’s father, looked old and broken, his face gray with rage. “How dare you, Fiona! ” he screamed.
“How dare you soil this family’s name! ”
“Soil the name? ” I laughed. “You did that years ago.
You built your empire on the bones of my family. My mother died, and you took what she left behind. You stole my life and handed it to Henry. ”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!
”
“I know more than you think,” I said. “I know about the deal you made with the Gambino family. I know about the shares. I know about everything.
”
“You—” his voice caught. “You have no idea what it took to keep this family together. ”
“You don’t care about this family,” I said. “You care about your name, your fortune, your legacy.
You don’t care who you destroy to keep it. ”
I turned to Henry. He looked like a stranger, the man I’d never loved, the man I’d been bound to for four years. “I’m done,” I said.
“I’m done with the Sterlings. I’m done with this marriage. And I’m done pretending it was anything other than a prison. ”
“Fiona, please,” Henry said.
“Have mercy. ”
“You want mercy? ” I asked. “Then sign the papers.
Divorce me. Let me go. ”
“I can’t,” he said. “If I sign, I lose everything.
”
“You lost everything the day you handed me over to those escorts,” I said. “That’s the moment we stopped being married. That’s the moment you stopped being my husband. ”
The Don stepped forward, a sheaf of papers in his hand.
“Sign,” he said. “Or watch the Sterling empire burn. ”
Gabe lunged for him, but two security guards caught him and held him in place. “You can’t do this!
” he screamed. “This family—we made you! Without us, you’d be nothing! ”
“Without me,” I said quietly, “you’d already be in prison.
”
The room fell silent. The Don’s hand pressed into mine. “All right,” I said, looking at Gabe. “You want to talk about what I ‘owe’ this family?
Let’s talk about the four years I spent as your servant, your hostage, your broodmare. Let’s talk about the way you destroyed my mother and stole my birthright. Let’s talk about the way you forced me to marry your son, knowing he would never love me, knowing I would be nothing more than a rented womb to carry the next Sterling. ”
“You didn’t have to marry Henry,” Gabe spat.
“You chose that debt. ”
“I chose to save my remaining family,” I said. “You gave me no other option. ”
“So this is what it comes to?
” Gabe asked, hatred burning in his eyes. “You’re just a whore with a price tag? ”
I smiled, slow and cold. “I learned it from the best.
”
The Don raised his hand, about to give the order that would end everything. But before he could, there was a commotion at the door. “Fiona! ”
It was Henry.
He stood in the doorway, his face twisted with fury and desperation. “You—you destroyed me,” he said, his voice shaking. “You ruined everything. ”
“I didn’t ruin anything,” I said.
“I just stopped pretending. ”
“You don’t deserve to be happy,” he spat. “You don’t deserve to get away with this. I want you dead.
I want—I want you to feel what I feel. ”
He reached into his jacket. Everything after that happened too fast. The Don moved, putting himself between me and Henry.
There was a loud noise, like a gunshot, and then the whole world had gone silent. I don’t remember falling. I just remember waking up in a hospital bed, the Don’s hand around mine. “You’re safe now,” he said.
“That’s what matters. ”
“Henry—? ”
“He’s gone,” he said. “You don’t have to think about him anymore.
”
I felt something warm on my stomach. His hand, resting there. “The baby? ” I asked.
“The baby’s fine,” he said, his voice rough. “Just like its mother. ”
I closed my eyes. The weight of everything I’d carried for four years finally eased, just a little.
“When I’m well,” I said, “I’m going to do something for him. ”
The Don looked at me. “What? ”
“I’m going to give him a surprise,” I said, a smile touching my lips for the first time in what felt like forever.
“The best one yet. ”
His hand tightened around mine. “I told you. No more tears.
”
“No more tears,” I echoed. And for the first time in four years, I believed it.
