Chapter 3

The days after the funeral I swallowed in grief and sleepless nights. I did not leave my apartment but I had Nina with me.

I sat on my couch in my father's old sweater and stared at the walls, replaying every moment of my meeting with Aziel until the memory felt like a wound I kept pressing on purpose. Nina brought me food I barely touched and sat with me in the silence and I was grateful for her presence even when I could not find the words to tell her so.

On the third day, I received a call from Arthur Kane.

I stared at his name on my screen for a long moment before I answered. I did not want to hear his voice but I knew that ignoring him would only give him more power.

"Ria," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "I was hoping we could talk. Privately. Away from the prying eyes of the board and your uncle."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"I think you will want to hear what I have to offer. Meet me at the Garden Club this afternoon. If you do not come, I will assume you are not interested in saving your father's company."

He hung up before I could respond. I sat there with the phone in my hand, my heart pounding with anger and dread. I knew I should not go. I knew that meeting with Arthur Kane alone was a mistake. But I also knew that he had information I needed, and I could not afford to ignore him.

I arrived at the Garden Club an hour later. It was a private establishment tucked away in a quiet corner of the city, the kind of place where men like Arthur Kane conducted their business away from the scrutiny of the public eye. A waiter led me to a secluded table in the back, and Arthur was already there, seated with a glass of whiskey in his hand.

"Ria," he said, rising to pull out my chair. I did not sit down.

"What do you want, Arthur?"

He smiled. "Always so direct. I have always admired that about you."

"I am not here to exchange pleasantries. You said you had an offer."

Arthur settled back into his chair and gestured for me to sit. When I did not, he simply shrugged and took a sip of his whiskey.

"Very well," he said. "Here is the situation. You need a husband, and you need one quickly. Your father's will leaves you with no other option. If you do not marry, you lose everything to Victor, and Victor will sell those shares to me. I am offering you a way to keep what is rightfully yours."

"And how would you do that?"

"By marrying you," he said simply. "We would have a marriage in name only. I would take control of the shares and the company, and you would receive a generous settlement. You would remain on the board as a shareholder, and you would receive dividends from the profits. You would never have to worry about money again."

I stared at him. "You want to take everything my father built and leave me with a pension."

"I want to save your father's company from Victor's incompetence," Arthur corrected. "Victor is a fool, and he will run Grant Industries into the ground. I have the experience and the resources to keep it thriving. All I need is the legal right to control the shares, and marrying you gives me that right."

"You would be the power behind my shares. I would be nothing but a figurehead."

"You would be a very wealthy figurehead," Arthur said, and his smile widened. "And you would have my protection. No one would dare touch you or challenge your position if you were my wife."

I felt my stomach turn. "You are suggesting that I trade my father's legacy for a pension and your protection."

"I am suggesting that you be practical," Arthur said. "You have no husband, no prospects, and no way to stop Victor from destroying everything your father worked for. I am offering you a way out."

"And what do you get out of this arrangement besides my father's company?"

Arthur's smile did not falter, but something flickered in his eyes. "I get to protect what I helped your father build. I have been a partner in this company for over two decades. I have poured my blood, sweat, and tears into making it what it is today. I am not going to stand by and watch Victor tear it apart."

"You want my father's company. You have always wanted it. You were just waiting for him to die."

Arthur leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Careful, Ria. You are in no position to be making accusations."

"I am not accusing you of anything," I said. "I am telling you that I see you for exactly what you are."

Arthur set his glass down on the table and stood. He walked around the table until he was standing directly in front of me, close enough that I could smell the whiskey on his breath.

"You are making a mistake," he said quietly. "You are a woman alone in a world that does not care about you. You have no one to fight for you, no one to protect you. I am offering you a lifeline, and you are throwing it back in my face."

"I would rather drown than take your hand."

Arthur laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You think you are so clever. You think you can find someone else, someone who will marry you and save you from this situation. But let me tell you something, Ria. No one is going to risk everything to stand against me and Victor to marry you. You are alone and you will stay alone until you accept me."

"I will find someone."

"You will not." Arthur's voice was cold and final. "Good luck finding someone to marry you. You will need it."

He turned and walked away, and I stood there in the middle of the Garden Club with my heart pounding and my hands shaking. I felt sickto my stomach and a determination to prove him wrong.

I went home. I sat at my kitchen table with a list of names in front of me and I began to make phone calls.

I contacted Marcus Chen first. We had known each other since college. He was intelligent, successful, and had expressed interest in me more than once over the years. I called him and explained my situation with as much dignity as I could manage. I offered him a one year marriage contract that came with financial compensation and a clean dissolution.

There was a long pause on the other end of the line.

"I am flattered, Ria," he said finally. "But I am engaged."

"Congratulations," I said, forcing warmth into my voice. "I wish you every happiness."

I hung up and crossed his name off the list.

The next call was to a tech entrepreneur who had been trying to get me to invest in his startup for months. He was handsome, charming, and always eager to please.

"This is not what I expected when I saw your name on my caller ID," he said after I explained. "But I have to ask. What is in it for me?"

"You would have access to Grant Industries resources, a generous monthly stipend, and a guaranteed payout at the end of the year."

"And the chance to be married to the most beautiful woman in Manhattan," he added.

I felt my jaw tighten. "This would be a business arrangement, David. Nothing more."

"I understand." His voice was smooth, almost too smooth. "But I have a condition."

"What condition?"

"I want a real marriage. You know I have always wanted a taste of you."

My blood ran cold. "That is not what I am offering."

"Then I am afraid I cannot help you."

I hung up, my hands trembling with anger. I took a deep breath and crossed his name off the list.

I reached out to James Whitmore next, a real estate mogul and a friend of my father for decades. I had known him since I was a child and he had the influence to pull this off.

He listened to my proposal with a heavy sigh. "I wish I could help you, Ria. But I am eighty three years old and I have grandchildren your age. It would not be appropriate."

"I understand," I said, my voice hollow. "Thank you for taking my call."

I crossed his name off the list and stared at the remaining names. I had more calls to make but I already knew what the answer would be. Arthur Kane had gotten to them. He had warned them off, made it clear that anyone who helped me would face consequences. They would all turn me down, one by one, call by call, rejection by rejection.

But I was not going to stop. I was not going to let Arthur Kane win. I would find someone, even if I had to beg every man in the city to help me. I would find someone who was not afraid of Arthur Kane.

I just did not know yet that there was only one man in the city who fit that description.