Chapter 2

The living room was so quiet I could hear the pendulum of the clock.

The corner of Julian's mouth curled, as if he'd heard a joke. "Claire, are you kidding me? You're threatening me with divorce? You weren't this proud when your father was begging my family to take care of you."

My father had been the Ashfords' driver.

Ten years ago, someone shot at old Mr. Ashford. My father took the bullet for him.

From his hospital bed, old Mr. Ashford asked him what he wanted.

He gasped out, "Please... take care of my daughter."

Julian and I had grown up together.

After my father died, Julian held me while I cried. "Claire, I'll take care of you for the rest of my life. As long as I'm around, nobody gets to hurt you."

Remembering those words now felt like remembering another lifetime.

He stroked my hair the way you'd pet a dog. "Until you sign divorce papers, you'll always be my wife."

I knew he meant it.

If he didn't agree, no law firm in Grey Harbor would dare take my case.

So I had to force my way out.

Smack.

My cheek swelled up instantly.

"I told you. Ashford rules don't get broken."

Sienna had her people block my way.

I grabbed her by the throat.

The next second, Julian kicked me away.

My head struck the corner of a table. Everything went black.

"Lock Mrs. Ashford in the basement. Let her think about what she's done."

Several of them dragged me down to the basement. I pounded on the door. No one answered. I slumped against it, picturing my mother in her hospital bed, and the tears came pouring out.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Someone tapped on the door. A rough, weathered hand reached through the little window.

"Ma'am, eat something."

It was Nana Ruth.

The old nanny who had watched me grow up and loved me like her own daughter.

"Nana, please, let me out. I have to get to the hospital."

"Ma'am, I can't."

She pushed up her sleeve. Her arm was crisscrossed with scars.

"...Thank you."

I didn't want to make things any harder for her. I took the stale bread and water and sank to the floor.

Ever since Sienna moved in, my food budget had been twenty dollars a day.

Stale bread and water had become my daily ration.

Meanwhile, she had Julian taking her out to Michelin-starred restaurants every night.

The wife of the richest man in Grey Harbor was living worse than a beggar on the street.

I didn't sleep at all.

The next morning, I rushed to the hospital.

My mother lay in bed, her breathing faint. I threw myself down beside her and took her hand. "Mom, I'm here."

"Claire, you finally made it."

Her attending physician walked over, his face grim. "We stabilized her last night, but she's deteriorated since. She needs surgery."

"Then do it."

The doctor sighed. "Your account balance is zero. You're still thirty thousand dollars short for the operation."

It hit me like a blow.

My whole body went numb.

To play along with Sienna's little "household manager" game, Julian had cut off even my mother's medical bills.

My mother tugged at the hem of my shirt. "Sweetheart, don't beg him anymore."

I shook my head hard. "Mom, you're the only family I have left. I'm going to get you well. I promise."

Tears blurred my vision.

I didn't see my mother's red-rimmed eyes.

Or the way she looked at my back as I walked away, as if she couldn't bear to let me go.

When I got back to the house, Julian was coaxing Sienna through breakfast.

The table was covered in food.

Everything from pancakes, omelets, and fresh-squeezed orange juice to caviar and filet mignon.

I rushed over. "Julian, why did you cut off my mother's medical bills?"

He looked genuinely surprised. "When did I—"

"I did it."

Sienna dabbed her lips with a napkin, her face full of arrogance. "Mrs. Ashford, your budget is twenty dollars a day. If your mother needs medical bills paid, you can go out and earn the money yourself."

I was shaking all over. I looked at Julian. "You're just going to let her do this?"

"Sienna," Julian finally said. "Maybe..."

"You're going to spoil her again?"

Sienna shot to her feet, her chair scraping across the floor. "When you brought me here, you promised everything in this house would go my way. If one word from your wife can break my rules, then I'm leaving."

Julian caught her hand at once. "Okay, okay. Whatever you say."