The long-wheelbase Lincoln glided to a stop in the circular driveway of the Luna family estate. Before the driver could even open her door, Candice ripped the IV needle from the back of her hand.
A single drop of blood welled up, bright red against her pale skin. She ignored the sting, pushing the car door open and stumbling out onto the gravel.
The familiar, ornate front door of her home loomed before her. An image of her father's body lying on this same gravel, broken and lifeless, flashed in her mind. Her knees buckled, and she caught herself on the car's fender to keep from collapsing.
She pushed the memory down, forcing her legs to move.
Inside, the grand foyer was quiet. Her father, Silas Luna, was standing by a large oak table, staring down at a thick document-the Hansen merger agreement. He looked up as she entered, his face a mask of worry.
"Candice!" he shouted, his voice cracking with alarm. He dropped the papers and rushed to her side. Seeing the raw needle mark and the drop of blood on her hand, his face went white. "My God, are you insane? You should be in the hospital!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders, his grip tight with a father's terror. "What happened? Are you hurt? Someone call Dr. Evans, now!"
The warmth of his embrace, the sheer panic in his voice-a feeling she thought she'd lost forever-shattered the last of her composure. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed, the tears a torrent of grief and relief held back for an entire lifetime.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, sweetheart," Silas murmured, stroking her hair. He thought her tears were from the trauma of the accident. "It's over now. No one is going to hurt you."
Candice pulled back, her face wet, her eyes blazing with a desperate intensity. "I'm not marrying Julius Hansen," she said, each word a vow.
Silas's expression shifted from concern to confusion, then to unease. "Candice, we've talked about this. Luna Group... we have a cash flow problem. The merger, the marriage... it's the only way to stabilize the company. It's our lifeline."
The same words he'd used before. The same logic that had led them to the slaughterhouse.
"It's not a lifeline, Dad. It's a noose," she said, gripping his arm. "They're not trying to save us. They're trying to swallow us whole. I have a way to fix this, a better way. You have to trust me."
Silas stared at her, truly seeing her for the first time since she'd walked in. The desperation in her eyes was familiar, but beneath it was a steely resolve he had never seen before. He hesitated, then gave a slow nod. "Okay. Okay, Candy. We won't talk about it right now."
Just then, the doorbell chimed. The butler announced that Mr. Preston Hester was here to see her.
Candice's blood ran cold. Preston. In her past life, he had confessed his feelings for her. After she'd gently turned him down, his wounded pride had turned to spite. He'd used his family's influence to create small, but significant, obstacles for Luna Group, weakening them just enough for the Hansens to strike.
"I can't see him," she said quickly, her voice low. "Please, Dad. Tell him I'm resting."
Silas looked puzzled by her vehemence but did as she asked.
Candice watched through the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows as Preston stood on the porch, holding a bouquet of lilies. He had that easy, confident smile of the old-money elite, a smile she now knew could hide a petty, vindictive streak. She instinctively shrank back into the shadows.
He was turned away, but not before leaving the flowers with the butler.
Candice let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She turned to her father. "I need to see the company's financials. The core reports. Right now."
Silas's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he saw the urgency in her face. He led her to his study and opened the heavy safe behind a painting, retrieving a set of bound ledgers.
Candice's hands flew over the pages. The numbers were just as she remembered them-bad, but not yet fatal. Her finger traced along a line item. "Here," she said, her voice sharp. "And here. These are hidden losses, disguised as asset transfers. Hansen's people told you these were stable, didn't they?"
Silas stared at the pages, his eyes widening. He had just started to have his own suspicions about those very accounts. "How did you know?"
"Because their plan isn't to merge, Dad," Candice said, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "It's a hostile takeover dressed up as a wedding. They're going to bleed us dry from the inside."
The color drained from Silas's face. He looked from the ledgers to his daughter, a dawning horror in his eyes. He was finally starting to believe her.
Candice closed the ledger and stood before him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Trust me, Dad. I will protect what you built. I swear it."
He pulled her into another hug, this one tight with fear and a newfound respect. For the first time, Candice felt like she had an ally.
The intercom on the desk buzzed, startling them both.
The butler's voice was strained. "Sir... Mr. Vance from the Hansen legal team is here. He's... he's brought his entire team with him."
