AB

ed his

in the air between us

nto the chair opposite his desk. The velvet ring box still sat where Blackwoo

my eyes. "It's co

as wearing off, giving way to a fury I'd never felt before.

ned his glass and set it down with a heavy

fingers through my hair, loosening strands from

weight of secrets visibly crushing him. He stared a

line Solutions. Fifteen years ago, they were my main competition for a ma

The Carson City project? The one you

tcy, Izzy. If we didn't get that contract..." He trailed off, then squared his shoulders as if

rom them," I

t." No apology, no remorse. Just the cold calculation of a desperate man. "With

porate espionage, Dad. It's i

port. Their car went off Harborview Bridge." His voice had gone hollow, reciting facts like he was rea

en I was nine. A prominent Boston couple killed in a late-night crash.

dent," I said, connect

silence was

I demanded, bile

an, if that's what you're thinking." He laughe

n wh

t away, slamming it down out of his reach. "No more

ght shout at me. Instead, his

ic knowledge, but my contact told me. The pressure of possibly losing the contract

, the horrible t

er continued. "But there was more. The police found a note in his briefcase. Not a suicide no

died?" My voice sounded strange i

e raked a hand through his silver hair. "I pushed anyway. Used what I knew

ve off that bridge." It wasn't a q

accident, made more likely by his state of mind and the

im. "And you've spent fifteen years tel

anyway. For profit. For this," he gestured around the study, at the trappings of wealth that had defined my childhood

tire life, built on the deaths o

truck me. "How old was he?

s barely audible. "He was at bo

hat helplessness, that world-shattering fear, swept over me. But at least I s

of my

ked, trying to make sense of the twisted web

prises,and was making waves in the industry." My father's fingers drummed restlessly on the desk. "He approached me at a charity function. Very civilized.

Blackwood, barely into his twenties, plann

on. Emails. Bank transfers to my contact." My father's face had gone ashen at the memory. "He said he could

the devil." The words t

ain conditions. Financial oversight. A controlling interest that would remain dormant as long as we met quarterly targets." My fathe

skin like insects. "Why wa

to finish college, establish your art

six years. While I'd been attending classes, building a portfolio, dating occasional boyfriends w

eep the disgust from my voice.

ed, we would have lost everything then and there. You would have been nineteen, with no degree, no

with the storm raging inside me. "You could have told me, Dad. We could have prepared. Built so

leverage to break the contract. But every move I made, he countered. Every potential investor I approached m

t silent on the worn Persian rug. My mind ra

This contract can't possibly be leg

s voice was hollow. "It prese

care, you lose your company, and we both end

fferent lawyers. The contract is

box still sitting on the desk. Almost without conscious

y father s

m, flipping

ay of wealth. Instead, a single black pearl sat nestled in a setting of platinum and

a relationship built o

dropped it back on the de

ough the conviction in my voice had faded. "W

y related to the deaths of his parents." My father shook his head

was trapped. Cornered. Every path forward led to the

," I sai

r blinke

and I can't do that with you sitting t

ying slightly

come up with a solution. Now I have less than twen

he nodded once and shuffled toward the door, su

ing at the threshold. "I t

I cut him off. "You never thou

alone in the study with the contract that would determine

ocument toward me. The blue leather cover was cool

Caldwell and Alexander James Bla

unior year at Berklee, blissfully unaware, these two men had b

fore my eyes. Financial terms. Conditions. Contingenc

ackwood. Should she accept, the financial terms outlined in Section 3 shall continue as established, with modifications as specified in Appe

ge for what amounted

s. Night had fallen while my world imploded, and the garden beyond the gla

he one thing he couldn't bear to lose. Me. His only child.

complete my education. The specific timing. The ring that showed more

g didn't

iggering financial ruin and potentially leaving my mother without proper care. I could try to fight the contract

instrument of my father's punishment while securing my

ices included a h

to study the black pearl. It gleamed in the dim light, mysterious

ion. Who had watched me from a distance for six years, waiting for the perfect moment to stri

an undeniable shiver of awareness

r even noticing such things at a time like this.

paint-stained dress. I pulled it out

. My office, 58th floor, B

liance. The presumption ignited a fresh wave of ang

one thing Alexander Blackwood didn't: intima

hing in the Great Depression. My grandmother had taken over the company when her husband died suddenly, expanding it despite rampant sexism in the industry. My own

nts' daughter,for

n his revenge, he was about to learn otherwise. I couldn't escape this m

in, typing a reply before

be

ame immediatel

rs to prepare for the beginning of my new life as Alexander Blackwood's wif

kind of woman who could survi

the ring. Neither mattered now. The decision had been made,n

he sitting room, hunched over with his head in his hands. For a moment, I f

made this bed fifteen years ag

ng the water as hot as I could stand. As steam filled the small bathroom, I watched t

ppear as well, subsumed into whatever Alexander

l me. Still free, if on

make the