INICIAR SESIÓNAnna / Olivia’s POVTen years had passed, but I knew him instantly. His face had changed with age. His features looked sharper, his face thinner, but there was no mistaking him. I knew those eyes. I knew the way he stood. I knew the shape of his mouth.The smell of bleach filled the back of my throat.My fingers tightened around the edge of the door until the wood pressed painfully into my palm.Then he smiled.“Finally,” he said, sounding almost amused. “I get to meet my sister-in-law. The famous Olivia Finley… or should I call you Olivia Vanderbilt now? It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.”He gave a quiet laugh. “I always thought I’d be the first Vanderbilt brother to get married. Dickson beat me to it, though. He always did like winning.”My contact cleared his throat beside him, bringing my attention back to the reason he was there.“Good morning, Mrs. Vanderbilt. I’m here to get to work.”I swallowed. My throat felt painfully dry.Forcing myself to step aside, I gave the
Anna / Olivia’s POVMy heart raced as panic took over, and when a tear slipped down my cheek, I hated it immediately. My legs weakened beneath me, forcing me to grab the edge of the dresser to keep myself upright. “Olivia?”I couldn't answer him yet. My breathing came too quickly, and my fingers trembled against the wood as the closet tried to replace the bedroom around me. I fought against the memory, reminding myself that I wasn't there anymore and Williams wasn't here, until I could finally force myself to look at Dickson. He hadn't moved closer. “Don't touch me,” I managed.His hands dropped immediately. “Okay.”Whatever had been in his eyes disappeared. He stepped farther away and raised both hands. “Shit. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.”I gripped the dresser and concentrated on breathing.“I'm getting dressed,” he said quickly. “I'm not going to touch you.”Fabric rustled behind me, but I kept my eyes on the dresser until the bedroom stopped blurring with that closet.
Anna / Olivia’s POVThe bedroom door closed behind us.Dickson set my smaller bag beside the massive bed and headed for the en-suite bathroom. “I’m going to shower,” he told me, his voice still carrying the tension from the drive. “Make yourself comfortable.”The bathroom door closed, and moments later, I heard the shower running.I remained where I was, looking around the room.This was it.I was finally inside Dickson Vanderbilt’s home.This was the real reason I had signed the contract. The shares were useful, and forcing a Vanderbilt to marry the woman his family had once destroyed gave me a certain satisfaction, but neither was what I wanted most.I was looking for the black ledger.Three years ago, one of the Vanderbilts’ former accountants told me about a private record that existed outside the company’s financial system. He disappeared before I could learn much more, but I never forgot what he called it.The ledger supposedly contained everything the Vanderbilts had spent year
Anna / Olivia’s POVThe first thing my new husband tried to do was tell me where I was sleeping.We had barely left the building where our marriage became legal when Dickson looked at me and said, “You’re coming home with me.”I raised an eyebrow. “Am I?”“If this marriage is supposed to convince the board and the press, we need to live at the same address. My penthouse makes the most sense.”There it was again. The same confidence Dickson Vanderbilt had possessed at Galeforge, except now he wore expensive suits and expected entire rooms to obey him.Ten years ago, I would have lowered my head.Now I smiled. “You could have asked.”“Would you have said yes?”“Yes.”That seemed to catch him off guard.The truth was, I could have taken Dickson to one of my houses, surrounded him with my staff and made the great Vanderbilt heir my personal prisoner for the next twelve months. But there were things I could only gain by living in his world, and going home with him brought me closer to what
Anna / Olivia’s POVThe relief disappeared from Harry’s voice. “You want Dickson to marry you?”“For one year.”“You’re asking for twenty-five percent of my family’s shares, a seat on my board and my son,” he stated, his shock evident.“You told me to name my terms.”Harry went quiet for a moment before telling me Dickson would never agree to it.“Then I suppose you’ll have to convince him.”“And if I can’t?”A small smile touched my lips. “Then find another company willing to save yours.”Harry didn't answer immediately. When he finally told me he would speak to Dickson, I ended the call and stared at the dark screen of my phone.For ten years, I had imagined what this moment would feel like. I thought watching the Vanderbilts come to me for help would bring satisfaction, but there was none. The anger was still there, buried beneath ten years of ambition and planning, but all I felt now was the certainty that everything was finally falling into place.I closed the files and left the
Anna / Olivia’s POVThere were only two ways this day could end. I would marry Dickson Vanderbilt, or I would kill him.Ten years had changed Anastasia Bennett beyond recognition, but none of it had happened overnight. The weight had taken years to lose through diets, trainers and more discipline than the girl at Galeforge would have believed herself capable of. Pregnancy had changed my body too, leaving stretch marks and loose skin that weight loss could not erase.Eventually, money fixed some of what discipline couldn't. I had the excess skin removed from my stomach and my breasts lifted, leaving thin scars that expensive clothes kept hidden. Some loose skin remained around my thighs and arms, along with stretch marks I had stopped trying to erase.My black hair was blonde now, my thick glasses were gone, and no one looking at Olivia Finley would have recognized Galeforge's Fatso.But Anastasia had never completely disappeared.I had simply learned how to hide her better.I stepped







