Chapter 4

Arthur froze.

He stared at the paper, his lips pressed tight, and for once, something unguarded surfaced on his face: shock tangled with a flash of joy.

Lora's face went white. She instinctively reached for Arthur's sleeve, trying to pull his attention back.

"Arthur."

"I'll have a bodyguard take you home."

Arthur spoke slowly, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Lora stiffened, staring at him in disbelief.

Arthur had always given Lora whatever she asked for. This was the first time he had sent her away without hesitation.

"It's late. We can discuss the remaining business matters at headquarters tomorrow."

His voice was flat, stripped of all emotion.

Lora bit her lip. In the end she could only turn and leave, resentment simmering in every step.

The sprawling house finally fell silent.

Arthur moved toward me. His gaze caught the redness rimming my eyes and the marks his grip had left on my wrist, and a shadow of regret crossed his face.

"Catherine."

He softened his voice, a rare thing in three years of marriage. "I can explain what just happened."

"Lora and I aren't what you think."

His voice was low and steady, every word measured. "For two years, the Family has been expanding its black-market operations overseas and securing arms routes across Europe. Every critical link runs through Lora's family. We rise and fall together."

He laid out the power struggle without apology or comfort. "We can't let personal feelings bring down everything the Warren Family has built."

I scoffed.

My family had lost its power years ago. I was of no use to his empire.

Lora, on the other hand, could prop up his entire enterprise, which gave her free rein to overstep under his indulgence.

"I admit I haven't been fair to you."

Arthur raised his hand as if to touch my face, but pulled it back. "Stop talking nonsense. We have a child now."

I looked at the genuine joy and guilt in his eyes and felt nothing but bitter irony.

I said nothing. I tucked the ultrasound printout away and buried every feeling beneath the surface.

Some cracks, once they form, can never be mended.

I didn't sleep that night.

The next afternoon, I got a call from Lora.

"There's a wonderful gallery exhibition today. You have to come see it."

"You and I aren't friends, Lora!"

I was about to hang up when her voice turned shrill.

"You'll come, unless you don't want to know the truth about your father's murder!"

My heart lurched.

Arthur had investigated the case long ago. The Crowe Syndicate had coveted my father's land and hired an assassin to kill him.

Afterward, Arthur absorbed the Crowe Syndicate and quietly eliminated every key player.

Could it be...

I didn't dare think any further. I drove straight to the gallery.

Lora stood before the centerpiece painting in an immaculate white dress, poised and elegant, her smile warm.

When she saw me approaching, her smile deepened and she came forward to greet me. "Catherine, you're finally here."

I regarded her coolly.

"Arthur explained everything last night, didn't he? Business ties, no choice. What a perfect excuse."

My eyes darkened.

"Have you always believed your father's death was just a straightforward hit?"

Lora turned to me, undisguised triumph churning in her gaze. "Too bad, Catherine. You guessed wrong."

"Lorraine financed the Crowe Syndicate. Her husband was Del Smith."

Lora leaned close to my ear, a cruel smile curving her lips. "He was my uncle."

A thunderclap went off inside my skull. I went rigid and cold, unable to breathe.

"Arthur knew from the very beginning."

"You already know what he chose, don't you?"

"Catherine, he has always loved me. Only me."

"Want to see the proof for yourself?"

A tidal wave of hatred and anguish crashed over me, shattering my last scrap of reason.

Lora laughed in delight and delivered the final blow. "As you wish!"

BOOM!

A massive explosion ripped through the gallery, shaking the entire building to its core!

The chandelier plummeted from the ceiling. Glass shards flew in every direction. Walls split open as thick black smoke swallowed the exhibition hall.

A searing shockwave slammed into me, scorching my skin. Dust and ash blotted out everything in sight.

Chaos erupted. People screamed and stampeded as sobs, crashes, and the groan of collapsing walls filled the hall.

The blast hurled me to the ground. My spine struck the floor, and pain lanced through me, sharp enough to reach bone. The metallic taste of blood surged up my throat.

Smoke choked my vision. Everything around me went dark. Debris rained down from above.

Through the smoke and fire, a tall figure burst into the hall, moving with ruthless purpose.

Arthur.

His eyes swept the wreckage and passed straight over me where I lay on the floor. He never slowed.

He locked onto Lora, who was trembling nearby.

"Lora!" He shouted her name, pivoted, and sprinted toward her without an instant of hesitation.

He moved with frantic urgency, heedless of the crumbling walls and the danger all around him.

He reached her in a few long strides, bent down, and gathered her into his arms, shielding her from the falling debris with his own back. "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Every soothing word cut through the rubble and drove straight through me.

He didn't see me.

I was closer. I was badly injured. And I was carrying his child.

There was room in neither his eyes nor his heart for anyone but Lora.

Smoke billowed. Flames blazed.

The silhouette of Arthur shielding Lora as they retreated burned itself into my vision, searing and merciless.

Business or not, the instinct to choose her at any cost would always belong to Lora.

And I, from beginning to end, was nothing but collateral.

I was a stepping stone too insignificant to matter in the story of his ambition.

Smoke and fire churned in the wind. The gallery lay in ruins.

I slowly closed my eyes as rage swallowed the last of my reason.

Arthur. Lora.

I will make you pay for every last thing!

I swear it!

A stabbing cramp seized my lower belly. The world began to fade.

Through the haze, someone lifted me and held me tight.

Warm, urgent breath brushed against my ear.

"Catherine, I'm here."

I knew that voice.