Chapter 1 - The Predator and the PawnThe scent inside the Rolls-Royce was heavy—old leather, subtle cedarwood, and the unmistakable metallic tang of absolute power. Roman Callaway did not blink as Evelyn slid onto the plush bench seat opposite him. His pale gray eyes, sharp as broken glass, dissected her from the silver dress that clung to her shivering frame to the empty ring finger on her left hand.
"You're shaking, Evelyn," Roman said. His voice was a low, gravelly baritone that commanded silence without raising a decibel. "Not from the cold. From the insult."
"My feelings are none of your concern, Mr. Callaway," Evelyn snapped, adrenaline overriding her common sense. "Your son just humiliated me in front of half of Manhattan. If you're here to offer condolences, save your breath. If you're here to gloat because your precious bloodline is marrying into the Voss family, let me out of this car right now."
Roman didn't flinch. Instead, a faint, humorless smile touched the corners of his mouth.
"Gloating? At my son's stupidity?" Roman chuckled, a dry sound like dry leaves scraping pavement. "Grant thinks he has won the lottery by hitching himself to Claudia Voss. He thinks the Voss family fortune will secure his path to the CEO chair of Callaway Holdings by next spring. He is blind, arrogant, and entirely expendable."
Evelyn stared at him, the chill of the November air momentarily forgotten. "He's your only son."
"Biology is a terrible metric for competence," Roman replied smoothly. He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a heavy, gold-embossed leather folder, placing it on the polished wood console between them. "Grant is a boy playing a high-stakes game with someone else's chips. Claudia Voss is a viper who will eat him alive the moment his utility runs out. But you, Evelyn... you kept him anchored for seven years. You edited his board decks, you memorized his schedule, and you knew every skeleton in his closet."
Roman slid the folder toward her fingertips.
"Open it."
May you like
Evelyn hesitated, her heart hammering against her ribs. "What is this?"
"An insurance policy," Roman whispered. "And an offer. Marry me instead, Evelyn. And together, we will destroy everything Grant and the Voss family think they have built."
