Chapter 1

### Chapter 1

My mother died in a private hospital outside New York City, right after drinking the milk my fiancé's secretary, Chloe Sutton, had brought her.

I demanded that her death be investigated. Before anyone could, Lucian Hayes had the milk poured out and the cup washed clean.

"The hospital says she had a heart attack. Chloe was only trying to be kind. You can't accuse someone of murder just because your mom is gone."

Chloe cried and said she was frightened. He moved her behind him and demanded that I apologize.

I took off my engagement ring.

"We've only just lost my mother, and you're already defending Chloe."

"Lucian, the wedding is off."

That night, he knelt in front of me with red-rimmed eyes.

"Cece, it's not that I won't investigate. I'm afraid it will turn out to have been an accident, and you'll be hurt all over again. Before she died, Mom held my hand and made me promise to marry you and take care of you. Won't you grant her last wish?"

He took out a ring made from my design and slid it back onto my ring finger.

Five years earlier, a restaurant had exploded. He'd shielded me from a falling steel frame, a splinter of wood piercing his right arm. Even then, he'd picked up a piece of plastic cord and tied it around my finger.

"Cece, once we get out of here, I'll make you a ring with my own hands."

I looked at the scar on his arm that still hadn't faded, and in the end, I believed him.

On our wedding day, I put on my dress and got into the car I'd bought him for a million dollars.

As we passed the last intersection, the rear-seat entertainment screen lit up.

Intimate photos popped up one after another. In them, Lucian held Chloe and kissed her slightly rounded belly.

Then a woman's laughter came through the speakers.

"Her mom told her to call off the engagement right before she died. How do you have the nerve to say the opposite?"

Lucian sounded unconcerned. "Dead people don't talk. Mention a dying wish, put a ring on her finger, and she climbs right into the wedding car like a good girl, doesn't she?"

Chloe asked again:

"But you're the one who gave me that stuff, and I'm the one who delivered the milk. If she really digs into it, neither of us gets away."

"The report we gave her says it was a heart attack. She watched the cup being washed herself. What evidence does she have left? Once the wedding's over and I have the Sinclair money, I'll take you and the baby away."

I lowered my head and looked at the ring on my finger.

So he had finally kept his promise from five years ago to make me stop investigating my mother's death.

And here I was in a wedding dress, on my way to marry the man who killed her.

Tears fell onto the skirt of my dress.

I took out my phone and recorded the conversation playing through the speakers, then called my brother.

"Sebastian, Mom didn't die of an illness. I want Lucian and Chloe to pay."

I took off the ring and looked up at the driver.

"Turn around. Take me to the police station."

...

The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

"Miss Sinclair, the wedding venue is just ahead..."

"Turn around."

I sent the recording to my brother and watched until the progress circle beside the file disappeared.

Sebastian Sinclair called right away.

"Celeste, where are you?"

"In the wedding car. Listen to the recording. They said it themselves..."

Headlights flashed at us from the side.

The driver slammed on the brakes, and the screech drowned out my brother's voice.

The next second, a black sedan smashed into the car.

Glass shattered. The seat belt slammed me back against the seat, and pain tore through my calf.

My phone landed by my feet. The call was still connected.

I reached down for it, but the car door was pulled open first.

Lucian stood outside in his wedding suit, the boutonniere I'd chosen pinned to his chest.

I looked at him through blurred vision.

He glanced toward the wedding venue first, then frowned at the driver. "We were almost there. Why did you suddenly turn around?"

"Miss Sinclair said she wanted to go to the police station."

Lucian's face changed.

He bent down and saw the blood on my skirt. But he reached for my phone first.

I grabbed his wrist.

"Give it back."

He glanced down at the screen. The call had already dropped.

"Hospital first. Everything else can wait until you're thinking clearly."

He pried my fingers loose and handed the phone to his assistant.

"Stay with her. Don't let anyone use what happened today to stir up trouble."

Someone outside shouted that the bride was hurt. Lucian turned and blocked a raised camera.

"Take her to the hospital. Clear this up. Don't keep the guests from getting inside."

I finally let go.

The file had already been sent.

He could take the phone, but he couldn't take back the recording my brother had received.

When I woke, a nurse was adjusting my IV drip.

My calf had been stitched and my scalp was scraped. The examinations hadn't revealed any more serious injuries so far.

I pushed myself upright. My first words were, "Could I borrow a phone?"

"The man who came in with you said he was your fiancé. Do you want him contacted?"

Lucian's assistant stood in the doorway.

"Miss Sinclair, Mr. Hayes is dealing with things at the venue. Your phone was damaged in the crash. We'll return it once it's repaired."

"I'll borrow the hospital's phone."

The assistant didn't move.

I looked at him and slowly pressed the call button.

"We never married. He isn't my husband. If you want to stop me, call the doctor and hospital security in here and explain it to them."

The assistant's expression stiffened, and he finally stepped aside.

The nurse brought me a phone.

My brother picked up, his voice tight.

"Celeste?"

"I'm in the hospital. I hurt my leg. Did you get the recording?"

"I got it. I've saved a separate copy. I changed my flight at the airport. I'll be there tonight. Daniel Mitchell is coming to get you first."

Tears suddenly spilled down my face.

"Sebastian, back there, I thought..."

"Don't be scared. Get your injuries treated first. Don't go anywhere alone with them, and don't argue with them anymore."

After the call, I gave him the hospital address.

This time, I didn't ask Lucian why.

I was going to leave with that recording.

Just then, laughter came from outside the door.

"Going in now, Mrs. Hayes? Lucian said to let her rest."

"I can't even check on her?"

Chloe pushed open the door in a white evening gown.

She raised a hand to rest on the doorframe, and the first thing I saw was the diamond ring on her ring finger.

It was the ring I'd spent three years designing and revising.

She followed my gaze and smiled.

"After your accident, Luc brought me up to the altar instead. He said the party should go on."

"He said we couldn't leave a room full of guests waiting for nothing."

I knew it couldn't make her his legal wife. That didn't make the public humiliation any less deliberate.