Dee's head throbbed, a painful drumbeat of whiskey and regret. She stared at the photos on the table, then at Judith Monroe's furious face, and felt nothing.

"Are you done?" Dee asked, her voice flat. "If you are, please leave my home."

Her lack of a reaction seemed to enrage Judith further. "You think climbing into bed with Angelo means anything? Don't be a fool! You are the daughter of a criminal. Our family will never, ever let you in!"

"I'll have Donny call off the engagement immediately!" Judith shrieked, standing up. She stormed out, slamming the door so hard a picture frame on the wall rattled.

The moment the door closed, Dee's legs gave out. She slid to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees. The hate from last night, the humiliation of this morning-it all churned inside her. But she didn't cry.

Her phone rang, shattering the silence. The caller ID read 'Maria Kowalski'-her mother's caregiver. A knot of dread tightened in Dee's stomach. She answered.

"Miss Wallace, you need to come to the hospital! Right away!" Maria's voice was panicked. "Your mother... she tried to kill herself this morning! She's had another episode!"

Dee scrambled to her feet, stumbling out of the apartment without even changing out of her wrinkled gown from the night before.

She drove like a madwoman, her mind a chaotic storm of her mother's past screams and a doctor's clinical diagnosis: "Severe depression and post-traumatic stress."

At the hospital, she watched through a small window in a locked door as her mother, Clara, slept under the haze of sedatives, her face stained with tears even in unconsciousness. The doctor informed her Clara's condition was critical; any more stress could be fatal.

Leaving the hospital, Dee sat in her car, drowning in a sea of hopelessness. No fiancé. A family in ruins. A sick mother. It felt like the world was systematically stripping her of everything.

Her lawyer called with even worse news.

"Dee, there's a complication with your father's case. They're trying to move him to a maximum-security federal prison. If that happens, visitation will be nearly impossible, and the appeal will become much harder."

Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. One blow after another, each one aimed at breaking her. She needed money. She needed power.

Angelo Monroe's cold face flashed through her mind. She thought of the business card she had left on his nightstand. He was dangerous, but he was powerful. And right now, he was the only person who could pull her out of this.

Her hands shaking, she called her best friend, Chloe Hayes, the concierge manager at a luxury hotel downtown.

"Chloe," she said, her voice trembling.

Chloe's warm, no-nonsense voice was an anchor. "Dee? What's wrong? You sound terrible."

Dee gave her the short, brutal version of the engagement party, leaving out the part about sleeping with Angelo. She just said she needed to find him.

"Angelo Monroe," Chloe said, a low whistle in her tone. "CEO of the Monroe Group. That's big leagues, Dee. He's speaking at a press conference here this afternoon. I might be able to get you a press pass."

A flicker of hope. "I'm on my way."

Ten minutes later, Dee arrived at the hotel. She took the access card from Chloe, who looked at her with concern."Dee, what are you getting yourself into? This man isn't someone you can afford to mess with."

"I don't have a choice," Dee said, hugging her friend tightly.

She planned to wait for him in the parking garage after the event, to use their night together as leverage, to beg if she had to.

But she was too late. By the time she got there, his motorcade was already gone.

Defeated, she walked back to her car and turned the key. Nothing happened. The engine was completely dead.

Just then, the sky opened up. A torrential downpour began, fat drops of rain hammering against the windshield, blurring the world outside, extinguishing her last spark of hope.

She wouldn't give up. She got out of the car, the cold rain instantly soaking her thin dress. She shivered, walking toward the main road to hail a cab, a pathetic, drenched figure in the middle of a concrete garage.

Just as she was about to surrender to the cold and misery, a black Rolls-Royce Phantom glided to a silent stop beside her.

The tinted rear window slid down, revealing the sharp, impassive profile of Angelo Monroe. He was looking at a document, completely ignoring her.

His driver gestured for her to get in.

Dee stood frozen, rain soaking through her clothes and dripping from her hair. She couldn't tell if the wetness on her face was from the rain or her tears.

Angelo finally looked up. His cold, dark eyes met hers through the curtain of rain. His voice was flat, carrying the same authority as always.

"Get in. Or keep getting soaked."

She bit her lip, tasting the faint trace of blood mixed with rainwater. Then she pulled open the heavy door and slipped inside, bringing the cold, the rain, and her desperation into his warm, dry world filled with the scent of leather.

The door clicked shut, sealing her in.

Dee huddled in the corner of the plush leather seat, trying to make herself small. The vast space of the car felt suffocatingly intimate with him in it. Droplets of water from her ruined dress seeped into the expensive wool carpet.

Angelo put down his file. His gaze traveled over her, lingering on the way the wet fabric clung to her body. She was a wreck, but a strangely alluring one.

He didn't say a word. He pressed a button, and a silent, dark panel rose, sealing them off from the driver.

Her heart skipped a beat. "Where are you taking me?"

He leaned toward her, his presence overwhelming. She flinched, but he wasn't reaching for her. He opened a hidden compartment and pulled out a thick, cashmere blanket, tossing it onto her lap.

"I don't like my car smelling like a wet dog," he said, his voice devoid of any warmth.

The words were a slap, but the blanket was a lifeline. She wrapped it around her shivering body, the soft warmth a stark contrast to his cold demeanor.

This was her only chance.

"Mr. Monroe," she said, her voice steadier now. "I know last night was just... a transaction for you."

He watched her, his fingers drumming a silent, impatient rhythm on his knee.

She forced herself to meet his gaze. "I need your help. My father, my mother... I need money. And I need the kind of power that makes people shut up."

She laid everything on the table, her voice trembling but her gaze unwavering."I know you have everything. And I have nothing. Nothing except myself."

She paused, the next words catching in her throat. Her voice dropped to a whisper."I'll be your collateral. Whatever you want, for as long as you want me. Just help me."

A strange light flickered in the depths of his dark eyes. He seemed almost... interested. He leaned in closer, so close she could see her own terrified reflection in his pupils.

"Collateral?" he repeated the word, drawing it out with a mocking tone. "Miss Wallace, what makes you think you're worth the price?"

The humiliation burned her cheeks, but she didn't look away. She lifted her chin. "You already tested the merchandise last night, didn't you? You tell me if it was worth it."

The silence inside the car grew heavier. The faint amusement in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a colder, unreadable expression.

The car stopped at a red light. Dee glanced out the window, and her heart seized. In the next lane, in a Porsche, was Donny. His face was a mask of shock and disbelief, seeing her wrapped in a blanket in Angelo's car.

Dee instinctively tried to shrink back, but Angelo moved with chilling speed. He reached out, his fingers tipping her chin up, not painfully, but with an unmistakable command that she face the window.

Donny saw the gesture. His shock morphed into fear. He gave a weak, pathetic smile in Angelo's direction and quickly looked away, speeding off the second the light turned green. He was running.

Dee's heart was pounding. Angelo had done that on purpose.

He released her chin, leaning back as if nothing had happened. He studied her for a long, silent moment, as if assessing a new acquisition.

Finally, he spoke, his voice a low rumble. "Deal."

Before she could process the relief, he added, "You'll receive your down payment tomorrow."

His eyes bored into hers. "And from now on, you remember what you are. You're mine. No one touches you without my permission. Not even your pathetic ex-fiancé."

The possessiveness in his voice sent a shiver down her spine, a terrifying mix of fear and something else.

The car finally stopped in front of a sleek, impossibly luxurious high-rise she'd never seen before.

Angelo got out. After a moment's hesitation, Dee followed.

He didn't look at her. "The driver will take you home," he said, his voice once again a cold, dismissive wall. "Tomorrow, you'll begin fulfilling your obligations as my collateral."

He turned and walked into the building, his tall frame disappearing behind the glass doors. He left her standing in the cold night air, clutching a cashmere blanket that still held his scent.