"No need to trouble yourselves." My gaze slid over Matthew without a hint of emotion. "I'm here to sign the agreement relinquishing my inheritance rights. Once I sign, I'll leave."

Matthew grabbed my arm, his grip bruising, and dragged me toward the VIP lounge as if terrified I'd bolt halfway there.

Ryan spent less than three minutes printing the documents. He threw them onto the coffee table in front of me with a sneer.

"I thought you'd go crazy like you did five years ago." His lip curled. "Looks like that savage place in the Northwest really can beat the temper out of a person. Living among those uneducated barbarians, I suppose you had no choice but to accept your fate."

I didn't respond. I just silently picked up the pen.

At that moment, Georgia appeared, holding a cup of hot tea with delicate grace.

"Aria, don't blame Ryan for speaking bluntly. Everyone is doing this for your own good." She set the cup down with practiced elegance. "Even though your husband was a crude barbarian, he had money and power. Letting you marry him was a way for you to contribute to the family!"

*Heh.*

*Contribute?*

Five years ago, the Henson Group's capital chain snapped, creating a massive three-billion-dollar deficit. The cause? Georgia Pruitt. As a mere intern, she had "accidentally" leaked the project's floor price to a competitor at a business cocktail party.

If the hole wasn't plugged, Matthew and Georgia would have rotted in prison.

It just so happened that Sebastian James, a coal tycoon from the Northwest, offered a three-billion-dollar cash injection as a bride price for a Henson heiress.

Matthew didn't hesitate. He and Ryan—my fiancé at the time—tied me up and shipped me off.

That was what they called "contributing."

But no matter how I examined it, the logic escaped me. Georgia caused the disaster, yet I was the sacrifice.

"Oh, right, Aria... I heard that over there, you can't even bathe every day. Is that true? Then on you..." Georgia covered her nose and mouth, as if realizing she'd been rude.

"Enough." I cut her off sharply.

I signed my name on the agreement with a flourish.

"When will the money arrive?" The agreement stated a compensation of five million dollars.

Matthew glanced at the signature, relief washing over his face. For a split second, a flicker of guilt passed through his eyes.

"Aria, there's no need to rush the money, right?" His voice wavered. "I've arranged a place for you to stay. Give it some time..."

I cut through his hypocritical concern. "Stop talking nonsense. I want five million in cash. Right now."

Five million to buy out my identity as Miss Henson. A cheap price for freedom.

Ryan scoffed, his disgust deepening. "Aria Henson, when did you become so calculating? Did that nouveau riche husband of yours leave you nothing? Money, money, money—you're truly vulgar beyond endurance."

Bile rose in my throat just looking at his face.

"Are you giving it or not? If you don't, I'll tear this agreement to shreds and sue for a split of the family estate tomorrow!"

"Give it to her!" Matthew shouted immediately.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled out a checkbook, scribbled the amount, and threw the check at me.

"Take the money and behave yourself. Georgia is about to represent the Henson Group at a major jewelry exhibition—don't you dare cause trouble."

I couldn't be bothered to waste another breath on him. I snatched the check and turned to leave.

Behind me, Georgia's voice drifted out, sounding aggrieved and tearful. "Brothers, is Aria still angry with me? Actually, I can give all of this back to her..."

"Give back what?" Ryan sneered, his gaze fixed on my retreating figure, specifically my lower abdomen. "Only you are worthy of your current status, Georgia. She's just a woman carrying a barbarian's bastard. What right does she have to be mentioned in the same breath as you?"

Cold air hit my face as I stepped out of the hotel.

Ryan's mocking words echoed in my mind.

*"Since you got what you wanted, hurry up and get lost—get as far away from the capital as possible!"*

*"No one here welcomes you, and no one wants to see the bastard in your belly!"*

Just then, the baby kicked. A strong, reassuring thump against my ribs.

I looked down at the curve of my belly, then at the check in my hand.

With calm deliberation, I tore the check into tiny pieces.

Tossed the confetti into a nearby trash can.

Five million?

Even the grocery bag Sebastian bought me cost more than that.

I only asked for the money to make them believe that was all I wanted. To lower their guard.

A convenience store glowed on the corner. I walked in and bought the cheapest loaf of bread I could find. The dry, tasteless crust scratched my throat as I chewed, but it was sustenance.

An engine roared behind me.

A red Ferrari screeched to a halt at the curb.

The window rolled down, revealing Georgia's face.

She no longer bothered to hide her smugness.

"Yo, sister. Have you fallen so low that you're gnawing on dry bread?"

She didn't even get out of the car. Just raised her phone and snapped a photo of me.

"This is big news!" Her voice dripped with malicious glee. "The former number-one socialite of the capital... after marrying a Northwestern barbarian and getting widowed, she's now begging for food on the street like a stray dog."

Her fingers tapped rapidly as she posted the photo to her social media feed, waving the phone at me provocatively.

Ryan stepped out of the driver's seat. His frown deepened as he approached. "Aria, are you doing this on purpose? Trying to play the victim? Where is the check?"

"Tore it." I swallowed the dry bread. "It was too dirty."

His face darkened. He slapped the bread out of my hand, sending it tumbling into the dirt.

"What are you pretending to be so lofty for?" he snarled. "When your barbarian husband died, did he leave you penniless? We give you money, and you put on airs? You're clearly doing this to make people think we abused you!"

His grip closed around my wrist. Fingers digging into skin.

Georgia laughed, delighted by the show. She opened her designer bag, grabbed a handful of loose coins, and scattered them on the ground. They clattered across the pavement, some rolling into the sewer grate.

"Pick them up." Her grin widened, eyes shining with cruelty. "Sister, didn't you used to be obsessed with cleanliness? Now, for the sake of that child, surely you'll bend your waist?"

I didn't move.

I just stared at her, my gaze glacial.

"Georgia, you really haven't changed. You are so ugly inside, it makes me want to vomit."

Before Georgia could react to the insult, Ryan exploded.

*Slap!*

His hand struck my face hard, the sound cracking through the air.

"Watch your mouth! Is Georgia someone you can judge?"

I didn't dodge. I didn't flinch.

My cheek burned, but compared to the agony in my heart, this physical pain was nothing.

It was almost grounding.

Georgia pouted, leaning into Ryan and whining, "Alright, Ryan, don't be so mean. Sister definitely didn't mean it. She just stayed in the Northwest too long; she's gone feral."

Ryan scoffed. He pointed a finger in my face.

"Aria Henson, recognize your place. Georgia is the future mistress of the Henson family. Forget your little stunt today trying to guide public opinion against us. But listen closely: Blackstone Capital is coming for an inspection. If you and that bastard in your belly dare to come out and be an eyesore during that time, don't blame me for being ruthless."

With that, they swaggered back to the car.

But before she closed the door, Georgia left me with one final, venomous remark.

"Ryan, do you think her barbarian husband was stupid? The man is dead, not even a body to bury, yet he still left her pregnant. What bad luck!"

The Ferrari roared away, leaving me in a cloud of exhaust.

I stood there, unmoving.

My hand drifted to my pocket. Touched the cold, heavy metal of an old Nokia phone.

That was the only thing Sebastian James left me.

I thought of that bear of a man—soaked in blood in his final moments, yet still wearing that goofy grin as he shoved the phone into my hands.

"Wifey, this thing is built like a tank. It's got a life-saving talisman inside for you."

I wiped a smear of blood from the corner of my mouth, my gaze turning to ice.

*Bad luck?*

*We'll see who's really cursed.*

For the next two days, I made myself visible. Lingered around the Henson Group headquarters like bait dangling from a hook.

Same rags. Same broken posture. At night, I stayed in a dilapidated rental unit nearby, the kind of place where the walls sweated and the pipes groaned like dying animals.

I knew they wouldn't be able to resist.

Sure enough, two nights later, the trap sprung. A group of men stormed the rental, knocked me unconscious, and dragged me into the dark.

...

"Aria, you really shouldn't have come back right now."

Matthew Henson's voice drifted through the fog in my skull.

"I warned you to behave, but you just had to provoke me."

My eyelids cracked open. Sterile white light stabbed into my retinas. The sharp tang of antiseptic flooded my nostrils, mixing with something metallic—old blood, maybe, soaked into the grout between the floor tiles.

I was strapped to a surgical table. Leather bit into my wrists when I tested the restraints.

*Immobile.*

Georgia Pruitt stood nearby, pristine as a porcelain doll and twice as hollow.

"Matthew, she's doing this on purpose." Her voice dripped with poisoned honey. "She wants to cause a scene right when Blackstone Capital is conducting their inspection."

She tilted her chin toward him, batting those doe eyes. "If Blackstone finds out the Henson family is harboring a crazy woman—one pregnant with a bastard, no less—do you think they'll still finance us?"

My vision swam. Matthew's expression blurred at the edges.

"What are you hesitating for?" Ryan Gilbert stepped into view, his jaw tight. "The doctor is here. She's tied up. All we need is your order."

Matthew said nothing.

Ryan's teeth ground together audibly. "You think you're helping her? How is a single woman supposed to survive with a child?"

"Besides—" He jabbed a finger in my direction. "Aria's been lurking around the company for days. She's clearly planning to sabotage us during the audit. Even if you don't care about yourself, think about the Group. Think about Georgia."

The manipulation landed exactly where it was meant to.

Matthew approached the table. Tears shimmered in his eyes.

*Crocodile tears.*

"Aria, I'm doing this for your own good." His voice trembled with feigned nobility. "Once you get rid of that thing inside you, you'll still be my sister. I'll make you Georgia's assistant. I'll make sure you're fed and clothed."

He stared down at me—but he wasn't explaining anything to me.

He was brainwashing himself.

His hand rose, beckoning the doctor forward.

I summoned every ounce of strength left in my body.

"Bring me my phone."

My voice came out raw. Steady.

"Or you'll regret this for the rest of your life."

Matthew froze mid-gesture.

Georgia scoffed, rolling her eyes. "That broken Nokia? We threw that trash away ages ago."

"Is that so?"

The corner of my mouth quirked up.

"Then you're finished."

The words hung in the sterile air.

"I set a dead man's switch on that phone. If I don't enter a password every twelve hours, it automatically sends a file to Jason Fox at Blackstone Capital."

The color drained from their faces like water from a cracked basin. The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.

"What file?"