Chapter 4

The Grant family estate was ablaze with golden light, buzzing with voices.

Lucas half-dragged me through the door. The moment I found my footing, I was met with a roomful of stares.

And the person seated at the center of the head table wasn't Lucas's grandfather.

It was Mara.

She was dressed in a couture gown today, dripping with jewels, looking every bit the queen holding court.

Beside her sat a potbellied, balding middle-aged man with his nose in the air.

"Lucas, Brenna, you two finally made it."

The moment Mara saw us, she rose and hooked her arm through the middle-aged man's with practiced intimacy.

She lifted her chin, unable to contain her smugness.

"Let me formally introduce everyone. This is Bruce, the heir to the Moretti family empire.

"Bruce is normally so busy he barely has a minute to spare, but today he pushed back nine-figure deals just for me."

The words had barely left her mouth before the entire Grant family erupted.

Everyone's face split into an eager, fawning grin as they jostled to raise their glasses.

"My goodness, so this is Mr. Bruce! What an honor, what an absolute honor!"

"Mara is so lucky to have caught your eye. We do hope you'll look after our family, Mr. Bruce!"

Bruce lounged in his chair, chin tilted up, not even bothering to lift an eyelid. He answered with nothing more than a dismissive grunt through his nose.

Lucas stood beside me, his face ashen, fists clenched so tight the veins stood out, but he didn't dare say a word.

Lucas's mother, Patricia, smiled her most obsequious smile. The moment she turned and saw me, the warmth vanished from her face, replaced by open contempt.

"Brenna, what are you standing there for?

"How did Lucas end up with such an ignorant, graceless woman! You can't even produce an heir, and you have the nerve to walk around with that sour face?

"Get over here and apologize to Mara and Mr. Bruce this instant!"

I stared at them all, cold and unflinching, then shook Lucas's hand off. "Apologize for what?"

My voice rang out sharp and clear as I swept the room with my gaze.

"Your son had an affair for three years. He let this woman destroy me until I lost my baby. And instead of making them apologize to me, you want me to grovel?"

The room broke into an uproar.

Lucas's face turned the color of a beet. "Brenna! Shut up!"

Mara's eyes reddened on cue.

She released Bruce's arm and drifted toward me, arranging her face into a picture of wounded fragility.

"Brenna, please don't be angry. Everything is my fault."

She reached for my arm as she spoke, and the instant her fingertips nearly grazed my sleeve, she let out a piercing shriek and threw herself dramatically backward.

"Ahhh—"

Mara crashed to the floor, both hands clutching her flat stomach as she curled into herself, writhing.

"It hurts... my stomach hurts so much..."

She pointed a trembling finger at me, tears streaming down her face.

"Brenna, I know you hate me, but why did you push me? The baby... what if something happens to Bruce's baby?"

The room froze. Then outrage erupted from every direction.

Bruce slammed his palm on the table and shot to his feet, the flesh of his jowls quivering.

"Are you people out of your minds! Nobody lays a hand on my woman!"

He drew himself up with all the terrifying weight of a top-tier heir and jabbed a finger in my direction.

"Guards! Grab this bitch and pin her to the floor!"

A squad of burly bodyguards in black surged forward.

Lucas stood rooted to the spot. His eyes met mine, and then, of all things, he took half a step back and chose to watch.

Two bodyguards seized my shoulders and forced them down. A vicious kick buckled the back of my knees.

Pain shot through me, and my body pitched forward against my will.

"Make her kneel and apologize! And break one of her hands while you're at it!" Bruce snarled.

My knees were a heartbeat from slamming into the marble floor.

Then the massive carved wooden doors at the entrance flew open, kicked in from outside.

"Touch her and I'll end you!"