Someone grabbed the rooster and shoved it in my face.

"Don't you dare!"

"Hester Pruitt, if you humiliate me today, forget you—even Scott Delgado won't be able to handle the consequences!"

Hester swept her arm across the long display table, sending my dowry crashing to the floor. Porcelain shattered. Jade splintered. The sound cut through the hall like a scream.

I lunged forward and seized her wrist. "Stop!"

Those were antiques, every last piece irreplaceable. My parents had sent them specifically to give me standing at this wedding.

The moment Hester saw the panic on my face, she wrenched free and raked the remaining pieces off the table. They hit the marble in a cascade of breaking glass and splintering wood.

"No money, no power, and all you can scrape together for a dowry is this junk?" She curled her lip. "You think you can intimidate me?"

"Finish the ceremony, or I'll have someone finish it for you!"

On her signal, two men grabbed the wine glass—the one the rooster had already drunk from—and forced it toward my mouth.

I shoved them back with everything I had, trembling with a rage I could barely contain.

I had grown up inside a classified government research facility. Never in my life had anyone subjected me to this kind of degradation.

Enough was enough. I raised my hand, ready to slap Hester across the face.

A voice roared from behind me.

"Touch her and see what happens!"

My fingers curled into a fist. I stopped myself. Barely.

Scott glared at me, then strode past without a second glance. He went straight to Hester, who was clutching her wrist with a wounded expression. He cradled her hand in both of his, brow furrowed, voice impossibly gentle.

"Hester, are you okay?"

Her eyes turned red on cue. She pointed at me, voice quivering with rehearsed distress.

"Mr. Delgado, she bullied me! She tried to hit me—look, she hurt my wrist!"

I stood rooted to the spot. Something inside my chest sank, slow and heavy.

He hadn't come for me.

Scott turned his head. The look he gave me held no trace of guilt. Only undisguised contempt.

"Elise, who the hell gave you permission to lay a hand on Hester?"

Scott Delgado was handsome—strikingly so—and undeniably capable. But he was blind. Completely, willfully blind.

Watching him lash out without bothering to ask a single question, the fury inside me became impossible to swallow.

I tore the red cord from my wrist and threw it down.

"She's the one who destroyed my dowry. She's the one who humiliated me. And you two have the nerve to turn this around on me?"

"Scott, in case you've forgotten—you are my fiancé. She is your secretary."

Scott looked at me as if I'd told a joke. A cold, mirthless smile twisted his mouth.

"Fiancé?"

"Elise, you must have done your homework by now. You know exactly who I am. And you know exactly who you are." His voice turned to ice. "Do you honestly think you deserve to marry me?"

"Clinging to some dusty old favor between our parents and thinking that's enough to climb your way into the Delgado family? Keep dreaming."

The guests, emboldened now that Scott had said it outright, let their whispers swell into open mockery.

"Scott Delgado runs this city. Even if he didn't marry into old money, he'd marry for love. Who does she think she is? If she doesn't own a mirror, she can always check her reflection in a puddle."

"Trash belongs in the gutter. Try to perch on a higher branch and you won't even know what killed you when you fall."

Before I could get a word out, Scott shot me one last scornful look, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a diamond ring. The stone was enormous—the size of a pigeon's egg, catching the light like a small sun.

He dropped to one knee in front of Hester.

The entire hall erupted.

Hester pressed both hands over her mouth, tears brimming, the picture of overwhelmed gratitude.

Scott slid the ring onto her finger. His voice was tender and deliberate, carrying to every corner of the room.

"Hester, I'm sorry I put you through this."

"This wedding was nothing but a farce my father forced on me. You're the one I love. You've always been the one."

"Marry me. I'll give you everything you've ever wanted. No one will ever make you suffer again."

Hester's face glowed with triumph. She cast a slow, deliberate glance in my direction, then admired the ring on her finger, her voice dripping with sweetness.

"Thank you, Scott. You're so good to me."

I stood there, frozen to the bone. My nails bit into my palms until I felt the skin break.

From the time I was old enough to understand anything, I was taught two things: protect your country, and never accept humiliation.

This was a premeditated attack. A calculated degradation.

If the people above me ever found out what happened here, every last one of them—the entire Delgado family included—would face consequences they couldn't begin to imagine.

The moment that ring slid onto Hester's finger, she looked like a woman who'd finally gotten everything she ever wanted. Vindication radiated off her in waves.

Before I could react, her hand whipped across my face. The slap cracked through the room like a gunshot.

"Know your place, Elise. Get lost. This wedding is mine now."

My cheek burned white-hot.

That slap. Every humiliation I'd swallowed today. I filed them all away.

It wasn't that I didn't dare hit back. My parents had made it clear before I left: my identity was classified, and every word I spoke, every move I made, represented the facility's interests. I couldn't afford a scene.

"Fine. The wedding's off."

Scott's expression darkened. He clearly hadn't expected me to agree so easily.

I tore off the veil and turned to leave.

His voice cut through the air behind me, cold as a blade.

"Stop. Did I say you could go?"

My steps faltered. I turned to face him.

"What now? Got something else to say, Mr. Delgado? The wedding's canceled. There's nothing left between us."

Scott closed the distance until he towered over me, his tone dripping with arrogance.

"Apologize to Hester."

"Apologize? For what?"

A cruel smirk twisted his lips.

"For humiliating her in public. For embarrassing her so badly she cried for days. For the slap she just gave you—which hurt her own hand, by the way."

His voice dropped lower, possessive and final.

"And because Hester is my woman now."

I almost laughed. Actually, I did laugh—a short, disbelieving sound.

"Scott, if your brain's this broken, see a doctor. When exactly did I humiliate her in public?"

Hester stood off to the side, smug satisfaction plastered across her face.

"Oh, Ms. Summers has such a short memory. Three months ago, at your engagement party with Scott, I accidentally spilled a little wine on you. And you had me thrown out. You even forced me to pay damages..."

Her voice climbed higher, trembling with practiced hurt. She pouted, burrowed into Scott's chest, and let out a string of pitiful little sobs.

Now that she mentioned it, I did remember.

That engagement party had been nothing more than a cover—a convenient excuse to facilitate the covert handoff of a classified document. The whole event was theater.

Hester had barged up to me out of nowhere and splashed an entire glass of red wine down my front. The wine hadn't damaged the device concealing the classified files, but her behavior was suspicious enough to raise flags.

My superiors had assigned me a personal bodyguard who posed as a distant cousin. She'd interrogated Hester as a potential security threat and removed her from the venue.

But the claim about forced compensation? Pure fabrication.

Scott's gaze bored into me, venomous and sharp.

"You dared humiliate Hester like that. Today, you'll pay it back a hundred times over."

So that was what this was about. Scott skipping the wedding to propose to Hester. The rooster. The tainted wine forced to my lips.

All of it—revenge for three months ago.

I drew a slow breath and crushed the fury rising in my chest. When I spoke, my voice was ice.

"You want me to apologize? Neither of you deserves one."

Scott's face went ashen.

"You'll apologize whether you want to or not. And on top of that, you'll pay Hester ten million dollars in emotional damages."

His eyes narrowed to slits.

"Otherwise, you won't make it out of Riverton in one piece."

On cue, several men materialized behind him. Their expressions were lewd, their gazes crawling over my body without an ounce of shame.

He thought I'd crumble. Thought I couldn't produce that kind of money. Thought I'd have no choice but to beg.

What he didn't know was that ten million dollars meant nothing to me. And threats? From him?

Not even close.

A faint smile curved the corner of my mouth.

"Fine. Ten million. I'll pay."

I let the words settle. Then my gaze hardened.

"But she just slapped me across the face. And she destroyed my dowry." I looked between them, steady and unhurried. "So don't you think you owe me an apology? And compensation of your own?"

Hester let out a derisive laugh and cast a contemptuous glance at the shattered pieces on the floor.

"That slap was a privilege. You should be grateful I even bothered."

"And this junk of yours? What's it even worth? Don't tell me you're trying to shake us down over a pile of scrap."

My gaze turned cold. I spoke slowly, deliberately, enunciating every word.

"Scrap? Secretary Pruitt, your ignorance is showing."

"Every piece in my dowry is a genuine artifact, centuries old, some dating back over a thousand years. Each one is a priceless treasure beyond anything money can buy."

"What you just destroyed was a Song Dynasty celadon vase and a white jade bracelet. If you don't believe me, by all means, bring in an appraiser."

The room erupted into murmurs all over again.

Hester didn't buy a word of it. She sneered.

"I don't care what kind of vase it was. Someone like you owning Song Dynasty relics? Please."

Just then, my phone rang. It was my parents.

Their identities were classified, which made it impossible for them to attend the wedding in person. A phone call to congratulate me was all they could manage.

I hit the answer button, and my mother's gentle voice came through immediately.

"Elise, sweetheart, how's the wedding going? Is Scott treating you well?"

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

"Mom, Scott canceled the wedding for another woman. They destroyed the dowry you and Dad prepared for me."

"They're demanding I apologize and pay them ten million dollars."

"What?!"

A beat of silence. Then my father's voice cut through, low and hard.

"Elise, tell me exactly what happened. I'm sending people right n—"

Before he could finish, Scott snatched the phone out of my hand and started barking into it.

"So you're Elise's parents, huh? Let me make one thing clear. Don't think some ancient favor with my grandfather entitles you to claw your way into the Delgado family!"

"I will never marry your arrogant, classless, utterly useless daughter!"

On the other end, my father's voice was calm. Terrifyingly calm.

"So you're the one who unilaterally canceled the union between the Summers and the Delgados."

"Richard Delgado built a lifetime of shrewdness and competence, and yet somehow he raised an heir who can't tell right from wrong and doesn't know the meaning of gratitude."

"Put your father on the phone. You don't have the standing to speak with me."

Scott's face flushed a violent shade of red. He ground his teeth.

"You dare address my father by name? You must have a death wish!"

"Your own daughter's getting married and you can't even be bothered to show up? You clearly don't give a damn about the Delgado family!"

Hester chimed in from the side, her voice dripping with venom.

"Calm down, Scott. I'm sure he's just too ashamed of how poor and insignificant he is to set foot in a venue this extravagant."

"Old man, take a good look in the mirror. What makes you think you're worthy of speaking to Chairman Delgado?"

With Scott backing her up, Hester's tone swelled with menace.

"I'm speaking now as the future daughter-in-law of the Delgado family. You have thirty minutes to show up at this wedding with ten million dollars in hand. You will kneel before Chairman Delgado and Scott and beg for forgiveness. Otherwise, I'll have people give your precious little daughter a very warm welcome."

"So you understand exactly what happens when you cross me and the Delgados."

No one had ever dared speak to my father like that. I knew he was furious beyond measure.

"Quite the audacity." His voice was steel wrapped in ice. "Then tell Richard Delgado to sit tight and wait. Let's see if he has the nerve to accept what I'm bringing."

Hester hadn't expected her threat, delivered under the full weight of the Delgado name, to fall completely flat. My father's commanding presence rattled her, and her face turned an ugly shade of purple.

"Fine, you stubborn old bastard. Let's see how long that tough talk lasts!"

She jabbed the end-call button and hurled the phone back at me.

Her eyes locked onto mine, frigid and sharp.

"You heard every word, Elise. If your parents are too scared to show up within thirty minutes, don't blame us for what comes next."

Half an hour. There was no way Dad could make it here in person.

Even by private jet, the trip from the facility would take at least an hour.

But if Dad had said it, he already had a plan.

These people had no idea the kind of trouble they'd just invited. Truly, spectacularly stupid.

I lifted my chin and stared straight at Scott and Hester, not an ounce of fear in my eyes.

"Scott, you really picked yourself a winner of a secretary. You dared to provoke my father. I'd start praying if I were you."

Scott flinched under my gaze, thrown for a half-second before his arrogance snapped back into place.

"Elise, cut the act. I'd love to see what kind of waves a nobody like you can make."

Hester chimed in right on cue. "Exactly. A woman with no money and no connections, trying to go up against us? Know your place."

That was when the commotion erupted at the entrance.

Every head in the hall turned. Jaws dropped, one after another.

A middle-aged man in a tailored government jacket strode through the doors, flanked by two rows of armed officers.

He was walking straight toward me.