Chapter 1 - The Four WordsThe attorneyâs hands trembled as he slipped the sealed, yellowed envelope across the mahogany desk. Outside Nathanâs office, the distant wail of police sirens grew louder.
âYour father told me to give this to you only if Grace ever returned, and only if her life was in immediate danger,â the attorney whispered, glancing nervously at the door.
Nathan ripped the envelope open. Inside was a single, blood-stained piece of heavy cardstock. Scrawled in his late fatherâs unmistakable handwriting were four words:
Victoria poisoned me, son.
Nathanâs breath caught in his throat. The room spun. His father hadn't died of a sudden heart attack. He was murdered. And the woman who killed him was currently in Nathanâs kitchen, wiping Lilyâs tears off her designer dress, pretending to be a victim while the police she had bribed marched up the driveway to arrest Grace.
âNathan!â Victoria burst into the study, tears streaming down her flawlessly powdered face. âThe police are here! That deranged maid tried to kidnap the little girl! Theyâre taking her away!â
Nathan looked at the woman he was supposed to marry in fourteen days. He saw the cold, calculated gleam of triumph hiding just beneath her fake tears. If he fought her now, Grace would be killed in custody, and Lily would vanish forever.
He had to play the most dangerous game of his life.
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He slipped the note into his inner pocket, forced his face into a mask of cold indifference, and walked past Victoria. âLet them take her,â Nathan said, his voice like ice.
He didn't miss the victorious smirk that flashed across Victoria's face. Enjoy it while it lasts, he thought. Because I am going to burn your world to the ground.
