"My daughter needs heart surgery," Riley whispered, clutching four-year-old Lily to her chest. "I'll do anything." Brett Graham's steel-gray eyes never left hers. "Anything?" "Yes." "Then you'll be mine. Completely. For six months." Riley Plia is homeless with a dying daughter when ruthless billionaire Brett Graham offers her a deal: pose as his girlfriend for six months and earn $500,000 for her child's heart surgery. She thinks she's found salvation. Instead, she finds herself trapped in a contract written in cruelty. Brett treats her like property—controlling her meals, her words, even when she can see her daughter. He humiliates her at galas, dismisses her tears, and uses her desperation as a weapon. But beneath his ice-cold exterior lies a man terrified of abandonment, testing her loyalty through suffering because everyone he's ever loved has left him. As Riley endures his torment to save Lily, she discovers an inner strength that refuses to break. And Brett finds himself addicted to the one woman who won't shatter under his worst behavior. In a world where love is the ultimate luxury, can two damaged souls heal each other's wounds—or will Brett's need for control destroy the only real thing he's ever found? When the contract ends, will she stay... or will she finally run?
View MoreRiley's POV
"Ma'am, you need to move that car now or I'm calling the tow truck!"
The security guard's voice cut through the rain as I fumbled with my keys, my hands shaking so badly I could barely grip them. The Honda's engine turned over once, twice, then died with a final wheeze that sounded like my last hope disappearing.
"Mommy, I'm hot," Lily whispered from her car seat, her small voice barely audible over the storm.
My hands shook as I counted the crumpled bills in my wallet. Again. Twelve dollars and thirty-seven cents. The same amount as five minutes ago, no matter how desperately I wished for a miracle.
"I know, baby. We're going to see the doctor now."
The security guard was already walking toward us, his yellow raincoat making him look like a walking caution sign. I grabbed Lily and ran for the emergency room entrance, my worn sneakers splashing through puddles that soaked through to my socks.
"Ma'am, you can't leave that vehicle there!" he called after me.
"Five minutes!" I shouted back, pushing through the automatic doors.
The hospital lobby hit me like a wall of antiseptic and air conditioning. Everything was gleaming white and chrome, from the marble floors to the reception desk where a woman in perfectly pressed scrubs looked up at me with barely concealed disgust.
"I need to see someone about my daughter," I said, shifting Lily's weight in my arms. "She has a fever and she's been sick for two days."
The receptionist's eyes traveled from my soaked hair to my thrift store jeans. "Insurance card?"
"I don't have insurance right now, but I can pay"
"How much can you pay today?"
The question hung in the air between us. I could feel other people in the waiting room staring. A woman in a Chanel suit pulled her purse closer when I walked past.
"I have twelve dollars," I said quietly.
"The emergency room f*e is four hundred dollars before any treatment." Her voice was flat, rehearsed. "I can give you information about free clinics."
"Please." The word came out cracked. "She's only four. I'll figure out how to pay you back."
The receptionist's expression didn't change. "I'm sorry, but we can't provide treatment without payment or insurance. There's a free clinic on"
"They're closed until Monday!" My voice rose, causing several heads to turn. "My daughter has been sick for two days. She needs help now."
Lily stirred in my arms, her small hand pressing against my chest. Her fever was getting worse. I could feel it through her thin pajamas.
"If you can't pay, I'll have to ask you to leave," the receptionist said. "Or we can call social services to discuss your daughter's care."
The threat hit me like ice water. "No. No, please don't call them."
I backed away from the desk, my heart pounding. Social services meant losing Lily. They'd take one look at our situation—living in a car, no job, no home and decide I was unfit.
"Mommy?" Lily's voice was small and scared.
"It's okay, baby. We're going to figure this out."
I walked toward the seating area, my mind racing. There had to be something I could do. Someone I could ask for help. But my family had disowned me months ago, and I'd burned through every friend's goodwill already.
That's when I heard the whispered conversation from two nurses near the coffee cart.
"Did you see Brett Graham is here again?" one said, stirring sugar into her coffee.
"The billionaire? What's he doing here?"
"Charity event in the west wing. Though after that scandal with his ex-fiancée, I'm surprised he shows his face anywhere."
"I heard he's looking for a new girlfriend. Someone to clean up his image."
"A fake girlfriend, you mean. Like those Hollywood contracts."
My feet stopped moving. Brett Graham. Everyone knew that name. The tech mogul who'd built an empire from nothing, worth billions, cold as ice and twice as ruthless.
"How much do you think someone would pay for that kind of arrangement?" the first nurse asked.
"With his money? Probably enough to solve anyone's problems."
The second nurse laughed. "If you could survive six months with that man. They say he's impossible to please."
I clutched Lily tighter, my mind spinning. It was insane. Desperate. The kind of idea that only occurred to someone who had absolutely nothing left to lose.
But as I looked down at my daughter's flushed face and felt her fever burning through her clothes, I realized that was exactly what I was.
Riley's POVThe Graham Industries boardroom feels like stepping into enemy territory. Twelve men in identical gray suits sit around a mahogany table that probably costs more than most people's cars."Gentlemen," Brett says as we enter, "I'd like you to meet Riley Plia, my strategic partner for the Graham Foundation."Strategic partner. Not a girlfriend, not a consultant. Partner.The temperature in the room drops ten degrees."Mr. Graham," says a man with silver hair and cold eyes, "we weren't expecting... additional participants in today's discussion.""Riley will be involved in all foundation decisions going forward, Harry." Brett pulls out a chair for me at the head of the table, directly across from him. "I suggest you get used to it."Harry smile is razor-thin. "Ms. Plia, isn't it? The former homeless woman?""That's right." I settle into my chair without flinching. "The former homeless woman who's about to explain why your donor contracts are a terrible idea."Shocked silence f
Riley's POV"How much of tonight was real?" I ask as we watch Victoria being loaded into a federal transport van.Brett dismisses the agents with a nod and turns to face me. "The embezzlement was real. Victoria stole forty-seven million over two years.""And the Swiss accounts?""Real, but not illegal. Standard offshore holdings for tax optimization." He runs a hand through his hair. "Everything else was theater.""Theater." The word tastes bitter. "You made me think you were facing bankruptcy to catch Victoria in a confession.""I made us both bait to end this once and for all.""Without telling me." I start walking toward his car, needing distance from the flashing lights and federal agents. "Again.""Riley" he calls out to me."No." I spin around to face him. "Do you have any idea what the last two hours did to me? Thinking the man I love was a criminal? That you'd taken out life insurance on me like I was some kind of investment?""The insurance policy is real." He said.My heart
Riley's POV"The Swiss accounts were supposed to be our safety net." Brett's voice is hollow as we drive through the empty streets toward Riverside Park. "Money that couldn't be touched by creditors or seized by courts.""How much money?" I asked."Fifty million. Maybe sixty."I grip the passenger door handle tighter. "Maybe?""I haven't checked the balances recently." He takes the exit toward the park where I spent those desperate months living in my car. "I was afraid of what I'd find.""Afraid of what you'd find in accounts you control?" I asked, almost shouting.Brett pulls into the same parking spot where he first offered me his contract eight months ago. The irony isn't lost on either of us."The accounts weren't exactly... legal."My stomach drops. "What does that mean?""It means Victoria has enough evidence to destroy me even if the financial leverage doesn't work.""Jesus, Brett." I turn to face him fully. "What else haven't you told me?"Before he can answer, headlights swe
Riley's POV"Yes." Brett's voice is barely above a whisper. "The documents are real."I stare at the financial papers on my phone screen, trying to make sense of the numbers. Loan agreements, debt consolidations, asset transfers all bearing Brett’s signature from the past six months.“How much?” I ask, my voice tight.“Riley”“How much, Brett?” My patience snaps, and my hands clench around the phone.He sits heavily in his chair, the weight of the truth aging him beyond his thirty-four years. “Four hundred million.”The number hits me like a punch. “Four hundred million dollars in debt?”“Not debt. Leveraged investments. There’s a difference.” His eyes avoid mine.“Explain the difference to someone whose daughter was dying because I couldn’t afford her surgery.” The sharpness in my tone cuts through the room.Brett flinches, but I don’t care. The protective anger I felt when Victoria threatened Lily has nowhere to go except him.“The Graham Foundation required significant startup capi
Riley's POVLily falls asleep between us on the couch, her small hand still clutching the stuffed elephant Brett bought her last week. The penthouse feels different now, lighter somehow, like a weight I didn't realize I was carrying has finally lifted."Morrison's probably in a cell right now," I whisper, brushing Lily's hair back from her face.Brett's arm tightens around my shoulders. "Federal holding and no bail for conspiracy charges.""And Victoria?"I asked, suddenly worried."On a plane to God knows where by morning." He presses his lips to the top of my head. "It's over, Riley. We actually won."The words should feel like celebration, but something hollow sits in my chest. I've spent so many months fighting, surviving, protecting—I'm not sure who I am without a crisis to solve."What happens now?"Brett's phone buzzes against the coffee table. He reaches for it carefully, trying not to wake Lily.His face changes as he reads the message. The color drains from his cheeks."What
Riley's POVVictoria is waiting in our penthouse when we arrive, sitting on our couch like she belongs there. She's perfectly composed in a white designer dress, every blonde hair in place despite the chaos she's helped create."Riley. Brett." She stands gracefully, her smile cold as winter. "Congratulations on your little victory with Morrison.""Little victory?" I set down my purse and face her directly. "Your partner in crime just got arrested on federal charges.""Morrison was always expendable. A useful tool who outlived his purpose." Victoria moves to the windows, gazing out at the city like a queen surveying her domain. "Did you really think removing one pawn would end this game?"Brett emerges from his office carrying a thick manila folder. "Actually, yes. Because we're not just removing pawns anymore."He drops the folder on the coffee table. Bank statements, phone records, photographs of Victoria meeting with Morrison and Judge Morrison spill across the surface."Conspiracy
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