The bathroom light was harsh. Kayden pressed a bag of frozen peas against the swelling on her cheek and stared at her reflection. A stranger stared back. Wild eyes. Bruised face. Scratches down her arms. This was the bride-to-be.
She pulled out her phone. Her thumb hovered over the contacts before landing on one name. Quinn Sullivan. Her best friend.
"Kayden? What's wrong? You sound awful." Quinn's voice sharpened with concern.
The dam broke. A choked sob escaped. "Quinn, I need you."
"I'm on my way."
Twenty minutes later, Quinn bustled into the apartment, her lawyer's briefcase still in hand. She took one look at Kayden's face and her expression hardened. "Who did this to you?"
Kayden couldn't bring herself to admit the full truth. The shame of what happened with Brook was too raw. She told Quinn about her father, about Patricia's public attack, about her mother's breakdown. She painted it as chaos, not a targeted assault.
Quinn listened, her jaw tight. When Kayden finished, Quinn paced the small living room.
"Your father's case is complicated, Kay," she said. "A transfer to max security, visitation revoked... that's not how a prison scuffle gets handled. Someone with real power is pulling strings. A normal appeal could take months. Years."
Despair washed over Kayden. "So what do I do?"
Quinn stopped pacing and looked at her. "You can't fight power with procedure. You need more power. Someone who can break the rules, not just work around them."
She hesitated, then said the name that made Kayden's stomach drop.
"Brook Edwards. In this city, if he wants something done, it gets done. No questions."
The memory flooded back. The car. His hands. His cool, assessing eyes. Heat rushed to Kayden's face.
"No," she said too quickly. "Absolutely not. I don't even know him."
"I know it's a long shot," Quinn sighed. "But he might be your only shot."
After Quinn left, Kayden sat in the silence, a war raging inside her. Her pride screamed at her to find another way. But her father's face kept flashing in her mind. Bruised. Worried. He was her responsibility. He was her only real family.
The decision settled in her chest, heavy as a stone. She would do whatever it took.
She opened her laptop and searched for Brook Edwards's public schedule. His company, Edwards Capital, was holding a press conference for a new acquisition that afternoon in Midtown. Her only chance.
She showered, the hot water stinging her scratches. She carefully covered the bruise on her cheek with concealer and pulled her hair into a tight ponytail. She chose a simple dark pantsuit. Armor for the fight ahead.
As she stepped out of her apartment building, two figures blocked her path.
Carter and Megan.
"Kayden! There you are!" Megan rushed forward, her face a perfect mask of worry, her eyes already glistening. "We were so worried. You just disappeared last night. Your mother was frantic."
Nausea surged. Kayden yanked her arm out of Megan's grip. "Don't touch me."
Carter stepped in front of Megan, playing the protective fiancé. "What the hell is wrong with you? Megan's just trying to be nice."
Kayden looked at him, her eyes cold. "My attitude? You should be asking yourself about yours, Carter."
A flicker of panic crossed his eyes before rage replaced it. "Don't think I don't know what you were up to last night. You embarrassed our entire family."
Passersby slowed, glancing their way. Kayden had no intention of making a scene. She tried to walk around them.
Carter grabbed her arm. "Where are you going? To meet some other man?"
"Carter, stop it," Megan pleaded from behind him. "I'm sure she has a good reason."
Their act was suffocating. It was the final push.
Kayden stopped and turned. Her gaze was ice. "Yes," she said, her voice low and clear. "I'm going to meet another man. A man a hundred times better than you'll ever be. Satisfied?"
She didn't wait for their reactions. She pulled her arm free and walked toward the parking garage, her resolve now forged in steel. She was going to find Brook Edwards.
