Chapter 1

At Old Mr. Sinclair's eightieth birthday gala, my husband's first love sobbed that my brother had forced himself on her.

The elite guests murmured amongst themselves, tongues sharp enough to draw blood.

"Clara Hayes was hand-picked by Old Mr. Sinclair as a potential bride for his grandson. The Carver boy has gone too far!"

Out of respect for the two families' long-standing ties, Old Mr. Sinclair chose not to pursue legal action.

Instead, he decreed that my brother marry Clara, using the union to atone for the alleged offense.

But my husband Sebastian stepped forward in front of everyone and personally shattered both of my brother's legs.

Afterward, he took my hand with a helpless expression.

"The Sinclairs have reach on both sides of the law. If we don't let them have this, the whole Carver family could pay for it later."

Seven and a half months later, Clara gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

Ethan sat in his wheelchair and screamed until his voice broke. "I told you — I never laid a single finger on her!"

He had said it a hundred times that night. Not one person had believed him.

They mocked him instead and called him a coward who couldn't own what he'd done.

He scooped the newborn out of the bassinet and moved to take the story to the press.

Sebastian came up behind him and brought something down hard against the back of his skull. Ethan dropped to the floor.

I lunged forward to scream — and Sebastian's hand closed around my throat.

"If you two blow this open, what kind of life do Clara and the child have left?"

His eyes were cold and without mercy. He squeezed until everything went dark.

When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn — back to the evening of the gala.

This time, I zip-tied Ethan's wrists myself and locked him in the supply closet. Three deadbolts.

But Clara still walked into that ballroom claiming someone had violated her.

...

Clara had nothing on but Sebastian's suit jacket draped over her bare shoulders, angry red marks trailing down her skin.

She covered her face with both hands, her sobs wretched and practiced.

"I've shamed myself in front of Mr. Sinclair. I can't face anyone."

She twisted toward the nearest marble pillar. "Sebastian, don't stop me — just let me die!"

Several society wives lunged forward to pull her back.

Their eyes, when they turned to me, were full of contempt.

"Ethan Carver thinks he can come back from abroad and act like an animal?"

"His family scraped together their reputation off military service, and now he puts his hands on the woman Old Mr. Sinclair himself chose? He clearly has no respect for this family."

"Clara was supposed to marry the Sinclair heir next month. That's finished now."

I glanced at Sebastian, Clara sheltered behind his broad back like something precious, and swallowed the sneer threatening to curl my mouth.

I pushed through the crowd and walked straight to Clara's side.

"Miss Hayes." My voice came out even. "Look carefully. Is the man who attacked you actually my brother?"

Clara flinched. Fresh tears spilled down her face.

"Miss Carver, I understand you want to protect Ethan. But who would lie about something like this?" Her voice cracked. "I don't want to live anymore."

She threw herself toward the pillar again. The society wives caught her in a flurry of silk and pearls.

Sebastian crossed the room in three strides and yanked me aside, fingers biting into my wrist hard enough to leave bruises.

His face was a thundercloud.

"Lena. Your brother commits something unforgivable, and instead of making him apologize, you come here and bully Clara?"

"Your father spent his whole life building something decent. You and Ethan just burned it to the ground."

His grip was iron. My wrist throbbed.

But inside, I was laughing.

Thirty minutes ago, I had tied Ethan up myself and padlocked him in the supply closet. Three locks.

Unless someone physically broke him out, there was no way he'd touched Clara Hayes.

I met Sebastian's eyes without flinching.

"Are you certain, Sebastian? Certain the man you saw was my brother?"

His brow creased. He bit out his answer through clenched teeth.

"I watched him put his hands on her with my own eyes. I knocked him out myself to pull her free. You think I can't recognize my own brother-in-law?"