I was devoted to Tom Collin, a man whose ambition I once admired. I gave up my career, my future, my entire identity for him. I was the perfect wife while he built his empire. But when he reached the top, I became invisible.
Then I found him with her—his college ex, the woman who’d abandoned him when he had nothing. When I confronted him, the man I married vanished, replaced by a monster whose hands left bruises on my skin.
I was finally ready to leave. But I never got the chance. He left our five-year-old daughter, Joy, alone for his mistress. And in his absence, my baby was murdered.
I buried my child, and with her, the weak woman I used to be. In a haze of grief, I let a handsome stranger hold me for one night in Italy—a single moment of oblivion.
Five years later, I live for one purpose: Revenge. Tom Collin will pay for what he did. He has no idea the woman now standing before him. But my new boss… he might. The magnetic CEO of our rival company is the stranger from that night. And he doesn’t know he’s the father of my secret daughter.


His words slammed into me like ice water, freezing every nerve in my body.


"Three days? Are you serious right now?" The question escaped before I could stop it, my voice shaking despite every effort to sound composed. "I'm her mother, Tom. Mothers are supposed to have more time with their children. We have a natural bond that can't just be divided up like some business contract."


"That's exactly why I'm taking four days," he fired back, each word sharp enough to cut. "I need to build a real relationship with Joy. I know I've been absent lately, but I'm going to fix that. And honestly," he paused, and I could practically feel his cruel smile through the phone, "I'll be doing her a huge favor. Give it a week and she'll be begging never to set foot in that cramped apartment you're hiding in."


Chapter 28 - Chapter 28 Line Goes Dead