"What is this?" I slammed the manila folder onto the mahogany desk.
Alexander stepped into the study, his eyes darting to the scattered papers. He didn't flinch. He didn't look surprised.
"You knew." My voice shook, but I forced my shoulders back. "You helped him fake the crash."
"Doris, put the file down."
"Answer me, Alex!" I grabbed the private flight manifest, shoving it toward his chest. "Extraction successful? Target relocated? You let me bury an empty box!"
He gently pushed my hand away. "It is complicated. Now isn't the time to explain."
"Not the time?" I laughed, the sound harsh and entirely foreign to my own ears. "I spent a week crying on your shoulder. You planned a funeral for a man you actively hid!"
"I was protecting you," he said softly.
"You were managing me." I backed away, staring at the man I thought was my closest friend. "You stood next to me at the cemetery. You watched me break down over a pile of dirt, knowing Sorensen was playing house with his pregnant mistress."
"There are things in motion you do not understand," Alexander insisted, taking a step toward me. "Sorensen is dangerous right now. I kept you in the dark for your own good."
"Explain it to me, then! Right now."
"Not yet." He crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "It isn't safe."
"Safe?" I scoffed, throwing the manifest onto the floor. "Your silence is just as twisted as his lies. Your pity makes me sick. Do not ever contact me again."
I walked out of the apartment, ignoring his voice calling my name down the hall.
By noon, the Wiles family boardroom felt like an execution chamber.
"Your presence here is a liability," Eleanor Wiles stated from the head of the glass table. My mother-in-law smoothed her tailored blazer, refusing to meet my eyes. "The scandal surrounding Sorensen's unfortunate end, and your alleged financial mismanagement, is tanking our stock."
"He drained the accounts, Eleanor. Not me." I gripped the edge of the table. "He faked his death to be with his mistress. I saw him!"
"Enough of your hysterical lies!" Eleanor slammed her palm flat against the glass. "Sorensen's actions, whatever they may be, are his own. But you are the one who failed to keep your husband satisfied. A Wiles man does not stray unless his home is lacking. You were always a charity case. A nobody who married up. We are severing all ties."
"You cannot just throw me out."
"The board has already voted," the legal counsel chimed in, sliding a thick document across the table. "Your joint accounts are frozen pending a fraud investigation. You have one hour to vacate the estate."
I didn't argue. The cold stares of the board members told me everything I needed to know. I was entirely alone.
Two armed security guards escorted me through the mansion I had called home for five years. I packed exactly one suitcase. No jewelry. No designer coats Sorensen had bought me. Just my own clothes.
The heavy iron gates clanged shut behind me, locking me out in the freezing rain.
Three days later, survival overrode pride.
The heavy bass vibrated through the floorboards of The Obsidian Room. I adjusted my tight black uniform, balancing a tray of champagne flutes. A week ago, I sat in the VIP sections of places exactly like this. Tonight, I was serving the people who used to kiss my cheek at charity galas.
"Table four needs service," the floor manager barked, shoving a fresh bottle of Dom Pérignon into my hands. "Move it, Doris."
I navigated the crowded, dimly lit room. Table four was a massive booth wrapped in red leather.
"Well, well. Look who it is."
I froze. Julian Thorne, a trust-fund heir who used to play golf with Sorensen, sneered at me from the center of the couch.
"Doris Wiles," Julian announced loudly, drawing the attention of his wealthy friends. "Or is it just Doris now? I heard the Wiles family threw you out with the trash."
"Here is your champagne, sir," I said, keeping my face entirely blank. I set the bottle on the table.
"Do not run off." Julian grabbed my wrist. His grip was tight, his breath reeking of expensive vodka. "Tell us, how does it feel? Your husband fakes a fiery explosion just to knock up some blonde side piece?"
The table erupted in laughter. A girl in a sequined dress tossed a crumpled hundred-dollar bill at my feet. "Buy yourself a clue, honey."
"Release my arm," I demanded, pulling my wrist back.
Julian stood up, towering over me. "You used to look down your nose at us. Now you are pouring my drinks."
He yanked my arm hard. The tray tipped. Ice-cold champagne splashed violently across my chest, soaking the thin fabric of my uniform.
"Oops," Julian mocked. He reached out, his fingers brushing against my damp collarbone. "Let me help you dry off."
"Do not touch me!" I shoved his chest.
He stumbled back, his amusement vanishing instantly. "You ungrateful bitch."
Julian lunged, pinning me against the dark corner of the booth. The velvet wall scraped against my bare shoulders. I kicked at his shins, but he pressed his weight heavily against me. The crowd around us just watched, their faces lit by the flashing strobe lights, smiling at the free entertainment.
Panic clawed at my throat. I twisted my torso, trying to break free.
"Take your hands off her."
The voice cut through the heavy bass. Low, authoritative, and utterly terrifying.
Julian froze. He turned his head, and all the color drained from his flushed face.
Alexander stood at the edge of the booth. He wore a dark suit, his expression a mask of pure ice. Two massive bouncers flanked his sides.
"Mr. Walton," Julian stammered, instantly dropping his hands from my shoulders. "We were just having some fun—"
"Throw him out," Alexander interrupted, not even looking at Julian.
The bouncers moved immediately. They grabbed Julian by his arms, dragging him backward as he kicked and shouted. His friends scrambled out of the booth, fleeing the VIP section without a single backward glance.
The music seemed to muffle as Alexander stepped closer. He took off his suit jacket and draped it over my shivering, soaked shoulders.
I clutched the lapels, glaring up at him. "Do you own this place too?"
"Walton Group acquired it last year," he replied, his tone infuriatingly calm.
"Are you having me followed, Alex?" My voice cracked with exhaustion and anger. "Is that how you knew I was here?"
"You used your real name on the employment application. It crossed my desk." He looked down at the spilled champagne, then back up to my face. "You should not be working in a place like this."
"I do not have a choice!" I yelled, uncaring who heard us. "Your best friend stole my money, and your silence cost me my home. I have nothing left."
"I offered you my apartment."
"I do not want your charity. I want you to leave me alone." I shoved the jacket back toward his chest, but he caught my wrists, holding them gently but firmly.
His dark eyes locked onto mine, searching for something I refused to give him.
"You are angry, and you have every right to be," Alexander said, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "But look around, Doris."
He released my wrists and gestured to the empty booth, the spilled liquor, the crumpled bills scattered on the sticky floor.
"If I didn't come," he asked, the intensity in his gaze pinning me in place, "what were you going to do?"
I opened my mouth to fire back a sharp retort, but the words died on my tongue. A new, terrifying thought crept into my mind. Why was Alexander Walton, the untouchable heir who never stepped foot in his own nightclubs, suddenly so invested in my survival?
