lla's

nally going to meet the mysterious E. Black, when the door swung open. Ethan was standing there, taking up most of the doorway with his wide shoulders, navy suit as perf

th. "We need to talk. I screwed up, but I can

d distorted. "Fix this?" I took a step closer, my eyes flaming. "You fucked my stepsister, Ethan. You embarrassed me, humiliated and used me and made me feel

ht back into place. "I was weak, Isabella. Lilian was a

y heart, not for a love lost, but for the foolish girl who once trusted him. I had concealed my

ispered, and then, before I could even think, he bent down and kissed me. His lips were warm, familiar, yet they sparked noth

"You can't do that anymore. You don't get to touch me, to handle me, to

low, then turned and stalked out. I breathed heavily and couldn't help but battle the vulnerability he had been trying to take advantage of

o this mysterious investor was. Was he a friend, a foe or just another of Ethan's machinations? My heals clanged as

ld me I was being watched. They cut me off halfway through the city, a black van weaving in front of me. Men wearing masks poured out, their movements quick, professional. My heart was racing, but I went into autopilot mode. I pressed my hand in the glove compartment for

lack the rest of that day; my escape from

e I turned I was surrounded by bodyguards, and they didnt let me forget the perils swarming around my reclaime

me bursting in. His hollow eyed were as I remembered them when I'd last seen him, years before, when he'd slunk about my father's empire like a vulture. "You're

h floor when I stood across from him, chestnut locks

rets to his enemies in exchange for scraps of power. You cannot tell me what to do." Kilan still reeked with betrayal. I

sorry for crossing me, Isabella. This company will not belong

d came out on top." His eyes narrowed and he backed off, but I saw the fear

a simple black gown, but when I was directed to my seat, my stomach dropped. The back had been a cheap, folding chair; the first class male CEOs, sank

enced the room's hum. "Whoever heard of donating a lousy chair to a woman a

d put another one, a splendid one, in its place, and trembled with eagerness. There was no mistaking the

e touched his face. I got up, my heart pounding, the eerie similarity sticking in my mind. and