I froze, almost certain I'd misheard him.

"Morton, have you lost your mind?"

This was the same man who, just moments ago, had been groveling before me at the sales office. Now, for the sake of another woman, he didn't even bother keeping up the act.

Sapphire immediately nestled into his arms, her eyes rimming red on cue as she tugged pitifully at his sleeve. "Morton, she hit me. She pretended to be your wife and said this house was hers. I was so scared..."

Morton's gaze hardened, and whatever hesitation remained vanished entirely.

He strode forward, seized me by the collar, and half-dragged, half-threw me into the yard.

Every movement was brutal. Every look, glacial. Like he was dealing with an enemy.

He leaned close, his voice low enough that only I could hear. "Teresa. Don't push your luck."

He straightened, towering over me. "You really think I'm still that obedient little husband who jumped at your every command? Let me spell it out for you. I took full control of the company a long time ago."

I braced my hands against the ground and pushed myself to my feet. "What are you talking about?"

He scoffed, contempt dripping from every syllable. "You insisted on our agreement to stay childless. Refused to give me an heir. Did you honestly think I'd let you pull my strings forever?"

"Once I took over the company, I drew up a will. Everything goes to Sapphire's child."

"And your parents? I've already sent them overseas. You think the Mason family can still protect you?"

Each word landed like a blade, precise and merciless. "The Masons are finished."

The blood in my veins turned to ice.

Every tender gesture. Every act of obedience. All of it had been a lie.

From the very beginning, he'd been after one thing: swallowing the Mason family whole.

"Now." Morton pointed at the ground, his tone brooking no argument. "You slapped Sapphire. Get on your knees and apologize to her. Do that, and I'll let everything else slide."

My head snapped up, cold fury blazing behind my eyes. "You want me to kneel to her? In your dreams."

"Morton, do you really want to take things this far?"

He was still underestimating me. A live-in husband with no background of his own could never have touched the true core of the company. I'd handed him a business to play with, and he'd deluded himself into thinking he held all the cards.

It was laughable.

But even when I warned him, he had no intention of backing down.

"This far?" He let out a short laugh, as if I'd told a joke. "If you'd just added Sapphire's name to the property deed like a good girl, none of this would've happened. You're the one who insisted on making a scene."

"You don't have the leverage to threaten me anymore."

He closed the distance between us, step by deliberate step, triumph written across his face.

"Don't make me force you to your knees."

I looked at that smug expression and, despite everything, smiled.

"Is that so?"

I lifted my hand and pressed the panic alarm button hidden inside my collar.

"Don't forget, Morton."

"I'm the one who took you from nothing. Made you a live-in husband. Put you in the CEO's chair of a brand-new company. That should tell you I've always had far more up my sleeve than what you can see."

But the instant I pressed it, no alarm sounded from my body.

Instead, a shrill, piercing wail erupted from Sapphire.

My pupils contracted. I stared at Morton in disbelief.

He'd secretly removed my personal alarm and planted it on Sapphire.

The sudden blast of noise sent Sapphire into a violent flinch. Her legs buckled and she crumpled to the ground, both hands clutching her stomach, her face draining of color in an instant.

"Morton, my stomach... it hurts so bad... The baby, my baby..."

Morton's expression twisted. He lunged toward her like a man possessed, gathering her into his arms, then whipped his head around to glare at me with murder in his eyes.

"Teresa! You won't stop until you've destroyed us, will you?!"

"You won't have children yourself, so you have to make sure Sapphire can't either? How can you be so vicious!"

The shrill commotion quickly drew passersby from the surrounding area. A crowd gathered at the villa's entrance, pointing and whispering in my direction.

"Dressed that nicely, but rotten to the core."

"The woman's pregnant, and she deliberately scared her. That's disgusting."

"Trying to steal someone's house and hurt their baby. Absolute trash."

Morton's fury consumed him completely. He jerked his head up and barked at the bodyguards, "Hold her down! Today she's going to kneel and beg Sapphire for forgiveness. Anyone who tries to protect her gets the same treatment!"

Two bodyguards moved in immediately, seizing my arms in a brutal grip.

Morton's eyes were dark with malice. He drew his leg back and drove his foot toward my stomach.

"Don't you dare touch me!" I snarled. "Morton Finley, try it. The Masons won't let you walk away from this."

"That panic alarm is linked to my brother's phone! Even if you swapped the device and gave it to Sapphire, the binding on his end can't be undone. You don't have the access."

Morton's foot froze mid-swing. Then, as if he'd just heard the most ridiculous joke of his life, he let out a derisive laugh.

"Teresa, you're still making things up? We've been married for years. The only family you've ever had around you is your parents. A brother? Since when?"

"You've lost your mind. Babbling nonsense because you're scared."

My heart sank.

My brother had been fiercely opposed to my marrying Morton. The two of them had clashed so badly that, in a fit of stubbornness, I'd refused to ever mention my brother's existence in front of Morton again.

From start to finish, he had no idea I had a blood-related older brother who wielded real power and showed no mercy.

"I'm not lying to you!"

I opened my mouth to explain.

But Morton had already lost patience. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and wrenched downward.

"Kneel! Get on your knees!"

The instant before my knees hit the ground—

A man's voice cut through the crowd like a blade.

"Who dares touch my sister."