Married To The Vulture Of Wall Street

lection in the spotted mirror of the City Clerk's bathroom. Her mascara was perfect. Her skin was pale, translucent under

bottle. The label read Sertraline, her supposed lifeline, the chemical leash her fathe

tioning herself to mimic the slight hand tremor associated with Se

the only thing real about that moment. Her phone buzzed against the marble countert

o his favorite coat two days ago. Preston Hayes. Her fiancé. He was tangled in sheets at SoHo House,

r watch. Forty

The Miller Group would be carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey, and her father would sell the scraps to the highest bidder. Her t

trayed. She felt the cold, hard click o

oor with a military cadence. The waiting area was a purgatory of beige walls and nervo

ing his foot. He was wearing a custom Tom Ford suit that cost more than mos

d, replaced by a practiced, dazzling smile. It was the smile that

. "You're dragging your feet. We're going

st. It was a possessive ge

muscle memory honed from years of do

empty air. His smile fal

dropping to that patronizing tone he used when he wanted t

k. She just hel

brightness was turned all the way up. The

reaction to fear. She watched it happen with clinica

ck, locking the screen and gripping the

said. Her v

irts-stopped whispering and stared. The hum of the

ace. He smelled of expensive cedar a

id. It was stress relief. It means nothing. Thin

act of infidelity or dishonesty prior to the signing of t

You're a liability, Ivy. You're the crazy daughter fresh out of a Swiss clinic. No on

thing didn't hitch. She looked at him

ing the contr

into her tendons, grinding bone agains

he growled. "We are going to that

erage. "Are you going to assault her in a government buildin

the metal detectors watching them. He let go of her wr

morning, fast-tracking the 24-hour waiting period, was only valid until 5 PM. Without a signature that day, she lost everything. Not just

rom Preston. She

omeone male. Someone who looked like they

rented tuxedos and the sentimental cou

she s

s wearing a black overcoat that absorbed the light around him.

looking

etely devoid of warmth. He looked like a p