night. The kind of quiet that mad

sh, felt more like a gilded cage than a guest suite. It smelled of fresh linen and old books, with the

nd it wasn't just the unnatural stillness of t

folder over in

t was Killian Va

r phone vibrati

ca

d when she saw the

Han

ves when she refused to bury a story that would have exp

ed, then swip

ering when

voice was clipped, businesslike. "Liana, w

ned on the phon

e is on a

eath hitch

ago. The Lancaster Corporation is suing you fo

blurred f

er Corp

d been gathering evidence of fraud, siphoned funds, illegal offshore accounts until, suddenly,

n. Or at least,

no

id, forcing her voice to stay cal

"Someone leaked your research, and

ar grip

leake

y. "And before you ask, I tried l

d her jaw. .

to great lengths to bring this lawsuit against her. Someone who had the

ike Killi

lse po

have seen t

ouldn't refuse. He had wanted control over her work, and n

d

les, drained of whatever money she had left, and

"Liana, listen to me. You need a lawy

ded th

ds were

her body moving before

hn's estate, the anger in her chest i

but she knew exact

st

d open, the impact reverberating th

didn't

rmed inside. The weight of the news still pressed on her chest like a vice. Five million do

on who had the power to orc

amber glow casting sharp shadows across his

him the satisfac

ng toward him. "I knew you were controlli

tumbler of whiskey. "You're going to

k, the screen still glowing with

Don't play dumb," she

face-mild amusement, laced with curiosity. He took

sumptions, I had not

clenched.

wouldn't have gone through the legal system. It's messy, unpredictable

ming for you now, it's because they finally found a way

eath h

ve he was lying. Th

e lawsuit was

rled into fist

oing to sit there and wa

regarding her as if she were a par

simply. "I'm g

. "Fix it? You're going to make a fi

s slow, deli

. "And what exactly d

t was-t

h an unspoken weight. Killian pushed off the desk

ed a

a bl

ting in her brain before she could p

red, half-convince

syllable calm, calculated. "And you

ng for the punchline. But

s she shook her hea

me my wife for two years, and in return, I take care of your problem. The lawsuit v

There were a hundred questions battling in h

ce was barely

t change. "Because my boar

ows fu

my biggest investors don't trust a man with too many secrets. Th

eath. "So this is

ment makes me untouchable in certain circles. It builds trust with shareholders, sm

his tone, but before she coul

the rules. One who won't get attached. An

throat

n her screamed t

omed over her like

lies left. No

nding her a solutio

her chin. "

yea

mered. "And w

you want. Debt-free, reputation re

richer, depending on ho

hands

was m

entire life a

e let her win. She had clawed her way into

he was out

ckm

akily. "Draw u