Chapter 2

Ethan and I were shoved down onto the Persian rug in the ballroom.

Ignoring the pain in my knees, I cradled him against me.

Isabella sashayed up onto the stage in the middle of the hall and tapped the microphone.

"Everyone, quiet down for a second."

The whole room went dead silent.

Hundreds of eyes stared at us like we were animals in a zoo.

Isabella snapped her fingers.

The giant LED screen behind her lit up with that blurry photo of the woman from behind.

A woman in a white couture gown sat on a man's lap, draped all over him.

Isabella pointed at the screen, then jabbed her finger at me.

"Open your eyes and look! This is the woman who crawled into my husband's bed!"

She looked around the room.

"She's married and still sleeping around. She even brought her brain-dead husband along as cover. Sounds like she's begging to be taught a lesson."

I happened to be wearing a white dress too, so every eye in the room turned to me.

Everyone there was rich or powerful. They had to know my dress was top-tier couture Alexander had flown in from Paris, far finer than the one in the photo.

But nobody dared speak up against Isabella.

"It's exactly the same. Same hair and everything. That's definitely her."

"Gross. She looks like a respectable socialite, but behind closed doors she's that desperate."

"Poor sickly guy. His wife's cheating on him and he's still holding her purse."

Vicious whispers rose all around me.

Bright lights and noise had always been hard on Ethan.

All the pointing and whispering made him cover his ears in pain and curl up into a ball.

"Nia..."

He gasped for air. His breathing grew faster, and his lips turned a terrifying bluish purple.

"Ethan! Look at me! Don't be scared, don't be scared!"

I threw myself at him and pulled him into my arms. "Deep breaths! Please, look at me!"

My hands shook as I searched his suit pockets.

He always carried his emergency medication and a portable oxygen unit.

His second sister, Evelyn Sterling, had spent tens of millions developing it just to keep him alive.

The instant my fingertips touched the pill bottle, there was a sharp snap.

Isabella's heel came down hard on the back of my hand and ground in.

The pain made me gasp, and all I could do was watch as she bent down and snatched up the pill bottle and the oxygen unit.

"You want this? To save his life?"

Isabella tossed the oxygen unit from hand to hand like a toy and looked down at me.

"Beg me.

"Get on your knees in front of everyone and admit you're a shameless whore, and I'll be merciful and give this junk back."

"Nia... don't beg her..."

Ethan forced his eyes open. Clutching the hem of my dress, he weakly shook his head.

"Isabella!"

I lifted my head, my eyes bloodred. I wanted to tear her apart with my bare hands.

"My brother is Damian! If you touch one hair on Ethan's head, you and the whole Larue family will pay with your lives!"

Isabella paused, then burst into shrill laughter.

"Damian?

"The legendary Damian who runs the East Coast underworld? That Don?"

She pointed at me, doubled over laughing, and made a show of wiping away tears.

"Have you been watching too many mob movies? If you're Damian's sister, then I'm God's secret love child!"

She lifted her chin, her contempt plain to see.

"At least do your homework before you lie! There isn't even one of Damian's lackeys in this hall tonight!"

Damian had canceled at the last minute. I'd gotten bored in Las Vegas and slipped away with Ethan to attend in his place.

When I didn't answer, Isabella raised an eyebrow.

"What? Forgot your lines?"

She kept sneering.

"If Damian were really here tonight, my father would've rolled out a red carpet clear to the street to welcome him. You wouldn't be standing here putting on this little act."

Martin saw how bad Ethan looked and couldn't hold back any longer. Dripping with sweat, he rushed onto the stage.

"Ms. Larue! The gentleman's stopped breathing. I think he's really dying!"

The smile vanished from Isabella's face.

She glared viciously at Martin.

"Didn't you hear what I said?

"I looked it up. The payout for a worthless life is a few hundred thousand, tops. I can afford that!"

Right in front of everyone, she raised the delicate oxygen unit high and smashed it on the floor.

Crash!

The unit shattered, sending pieces flying everywhere.

"No!"

I tried to throw myself at it, but two bodyguards pinned me to the floor.

Isabella strode down from the stage, grabbed my hair, and yanked my head back until I had to look at her.

"It's killing you, isn't it?

"If it's killing you, then get on your knees like a good girl and apologize on the livestream!

"Admit you're a shameless slut, and admit you tried to steal my husband!

"Put your forehead to the floor and apologize. Then I'll have someone call an ambulance and let this loser live."

Ethan lay on the floor, barely conscious.

But he still forced his eyes open and shook his head weakly at me.

"Nia... don't... don't kneel..."

But how can I not? This is Ethan, who's never heard so much as a harsh word in his whole life.

Watching him suffer, I slowly bent my knees. I was ready to give Isabella what she wanted.

But I never made it to the floor.

BOOM!

A deafening crash came from outside the ballroom's heavy mahogany doors, as if artillery had struck them.