His Heir, Her Escape

llionaire Brayden Quinn, out of the gutter. Ou

was an embryo created by him and my worst enemy, implanted in

lp, letting her perish from medical neglec

ed me in our mansion, a prisoner in a gilded cage. He held

procedure just to remind me of who was in cont

me; he had murdered my m

five hundred million dollars and a plan to disappear. On the deck of the superyacht he na

d. He would believe he had driven his

live w

pte

im from the gutter. That' s the

ilored, his expression a mixture of curiosity and caution. We were i

y the great Brayden Quinn for three years wh

front of me. The story was true. I had done

make a dea

was Brayden' s biggest rival in the tech worl

liste

hirty percent stake i

ossed his face. Thirty percent was a control

in return?" he a

on dollars. And you

nothing compared to the power I was offe

sapp

to help me fa

agmatic, opportunistic CEO was, for the first time since I' d

e you in some kind of trouble? There are other ways to

able, to talk me down from

I said, my voice flat. "

constant surveillance. The way his eyes would darken if I spoke to a

r, a test I took two days ago. I thought about the blinding joy o

ght about

I made to Brayden, begging him to use his influence, to get

he best care, Amel

s," a result of medical neglect. The specialist was never called. Brayden h

or, the woman whose family' s corporate greed had driven my own father' s busines

physical blow, st

ightly before I forced it steady. I looked him directly in the eye, letting him

s the table. A preliminar

e money in an offshore account by the end of the day. And I want a

, his eyes scanning the te

at his phone. He looked back at

n this burner phone." He slid a small, black phone across the table. "My team will

say thank you. This wasn' t a favor. It

ruin my husband, I heard him ask his assistan

t for an answ

ld I was carryi

rely grip the steering wheel. I managed to drive a few

. A sob tore from my throat, raw and agonizing. I slumped over the w

upposed to

s just a man, bleeding in an alley behind my food truck, beaten and left for de

cée was K

as he told me his dreams of getting it all back. His eyes burned with an i

ad into supporting him while he rebuilt his empire from my tiny

the street. He looked at me then, his knuckles blo

s protection. I didn't see i

in the middle of a crowded street. Each time with

with affection. He called me his queen, his savior. He built a narrative for the

tory. And he was i

ork trips grew longer. His phone

e. The look on her face was pure triumph. The look on Brayden'

leave. So

me at the airport and carri

rce. He had the

oice terrifyingly calm as he pinned me against

in the kitchen. I hit my head. At the

aby. Maybe a baby would fix this. Maybe it

He promised to end things with Katharina. He prom

as l

phone with his doctor. I was in the

" the doctor said. "Th

shed over me. I

nsen' s," Brayden said. "She' s the perfect vessel. Strong. Healthy.

ssel for my husband an

tilted o

illness. His casual cruelty. His refusal to help. It

rdled into something cold and hard. Th

ar window jolted me

od ran

s Bra

indow, my face a ca

s, the color of a stormy se

?" His voice was low

," I said, my heart po

home an hour ago. I called

a betrayal. A year ago, I would have been frantic to soothe his po

anym

f him telling a disbarred lawyer that I was his propert

held it, my silence

anipulation. He reached through the window, his hand stroking my chee

ired, Br

ice dripping with false sympathy. "And I know I haven' t been...

to smooth over the jagged edges of

roat, but I choked it down. I had t

in my eyes. I leaned into his touc

ayden," I

t, possessive smile th

go home,

d cage he called our home, o

leaving this life. And