CHAPTER 5

The USB drive lay on the marble floor like a grenade with the pin pulled.

Maeve's breath caught. Around her, the gala dissolved into chaos, whispers erupting, phones emerging from pockets, cameras flashing. The Takahashi Group stood frozen, their translator gesturing rapidly, faces locked in that particular expression of people reassessing everything.

Carter Langston didn't move toward the USB. He stood perfectly still, his grey eyes scanning the room with the cold calculation of a general watching his army scatter. Then his gaze found Maeve, and something passed between them, a warning, or maybe a dare.

Before anyone could reach the drive, security flooded in. Carter's voice cut through the noise, smooth as silk over steel. "Ladies and gentlemen, please. A minor disruption. Ms. Kensington has always had a flair for the dramatic." His smile was charming, practiced, empty. "The evening will continue. Dessert is being served on the terrace."

But Maeve saw what others might have missed, his hand trembled as he adjusted his cuff. Just once. Just enough.

Cameron appeared at her elbow, his warmth suddenly feeling intentional. "We should get you out of here. Now."

"Why?" Maeve whispered, not moving. Her eyes tracked Carter as he smoothly guided the Takahashis toward a private room, two security guards flanking them. "What's on that drive?"

Cameron's jaw tightened. "Nothing good. And if you're smart, you'll forget you saw it."

But Maeve's mind was already racing. Faulty products. Fudged reports. The words Jade had thrown like knives. If Langston Appliances was built on lies, then everything, the Challenge, the merger, Carter's desperate need for a wife, it all clicked into place with sickening clarity.

This wasn't about love or partnership. It was about covering up something much darker.

"Miss Wells."

The voice behind her made her spine straighten. She turned to find an older Japanese man, one of the Takahashi executives, watching her with shrewd eyes. His English was impeccable, barely accented.

"Your presentation was most impressive. Tell me…" he stepped closer, voice dropping, "...do you believe in the integrity of Langston's products?"

The question was a trap. Maeve felt it in her bones.

If she said yes, she was complicit. If she said no, she was out of the Challenge, and her family stayed buried under bills they couldn't pay.

"I believe," she said carefully, meeting his gaze, "that every company has room for improvement. That's what I'm here for, to make things better."

Something flickered in the man's expression. Approval? Pity? He nodded slowly. "Honesty is a rare commodity, Miss Wells. Especially in this room." He handed her a business card, the gesture subtle. "If you wish to discuss product integrity further, you may contact me directly. Discreetly."

Then he was gone, melting back into the crowd.

Maeve stared at the card, her heart hammering. It felt like a lifeline and a noose at the same time.

"What did he give you?"

She spun. Carter stood three feet away, having materialized like smoke. His eyes dropped to her hand, to the card barely visible between her fingers.

"Nothing. Just, congratulations on my pitch." The lie tasted bitter.

Carter's smile didn't reach his eyes. "You're a terrible liar, Maeve. That's going to be a problem."

Before she could respond, he stepped closer, backing her subtly against the marble pillar behind her. The crowd seemed to fade, the noise becoming distant. His voice dropped to something dangerous and intimate.

"You think you know what you walked into, but you don't. Jade's games, my father's sabotage, investors circling like vultures…" His hand lifted, almost touching her face, then stopped. "You're in the deep end now, and you can't swim."

Maeve's chin lifted, defiance sparking. "Then teach me. Or get out of my way."

Something flashed in his eyes, surprise, maybe respect. His lips curved into a smile that actually looked real, just for a second. "Careful what you ask for."

Then he turned and walked away, leaving her pulse racing and her mind spinning.

The night didn't end cleanly.

By the time Maeve escaped to the bathroom, her hands were shaking. She splashed cold water on her face, ruining what little makeup she'd managed, and tried to breathe through the tightness in her chest.

The door opened. Maeve looked up, expecting another contestant, maybe one of the glittering heiresses who'd ignored her all night.

Instead, Jade Kensington stood there.

Up close, she was even more beautiful, and more terrifying. Her crimson dress looked like war paint. Her smile was all teeth.

"So you're the little charity case everyone's talking about," Jade said, leaning against the counter. "Cute."

Maeve straightened, ignoring the urge to step back. "If you've got something to say, say it."

Jade's laugh was sharp. "Oh, I like you. That's unfortunate." She pulled out a compact, checking her reflection with the casual confidence of someone who'd never doubted her place in the world. "Carter's going to eat you alive, you know. He's done it before."

"To you?"

The compact snapped shut. Jade's eyes went cold. "I was useful to him. An heiress with connections, someone who looked good on his arm while he climbed. Then I became inconvenient." She stepped closer, her perfume expensive and cloying. "He'll do the same to you. Use you to save his merger, parade you around until the ink's dry, then discard you. Except you…" her gaze raked over Maeve's thrift-store dress, "...you don't even have the money to cushion the fall."

Maeve's hands curled into fists. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want to watch him lose." Jade's smile turned vicious. "And you, sweet naive little Maeve, might be exactly the weapon I need. That USB? It's just the beginning. I've got so much more. But I need someone on the inside. Someone he won't suspect."

The bathroom suddenly felt too small, the air too thick. "You want me to spy on him."

"I want you to survive him." Jade pulled out a phone, typed something quickly, then showed Maeve the screen. It was a photo, Carter and an older man in a dark warehouse, money changing hands, crates marked with warning labels stacked behind them.

"What is that?" Maeve whispered.

"Insurance fraud. He's been shipping faulty fridges to low-income areas, then paying off inspectors to bury the complaints. Those products? They've caused fires, Maeve. People have been hurt. But it's cheaper than recalls." Jade's voice dropped, became almost gentle. "You think you're different? You think he chose you because you're special? No. He chose you because you're desperate. Desperate people don't ask questions."

The words hit like a fist to the gut.

Maeve wanted to call her a liar. Wanted to storm out. But that photo, the cold calculation in Carter's posture, the casual exchange of money, it fit too well with the man who'd cornered her in his limo, who'd reduced her family's suffering to a bargaining chip.

"Why should I trust you?" Maeve asked, her voice barely steady.

Jade's smile softened, just slightly. "You shouldn't. Trust no one in this game, sweetheart. Especially not Cameron."

"Cameron? He's been nothing but kind…"

"He's Carter's cousin. You think he doesn't know about the fires? About the payoffs?" Jade's expression turned pitying. "The Langston family protects its own. Always. Cameron's playing the good cop to Carter's bad cop. Classic strategy." She headed for the door, then paused. "One more thing. That business card the Takahashi exec gave you? Use it. They're

already suspicious. One more piece of evidence, and the merger collapses. Carter loses everything."