“Aah!”
Felicity’s scream pierced the air behind Harrison.
He spun around and saw her sprawled on the ground, hair tumbling in disarray. She looked up at him, eyes wide and pleading.
“Harrison…”
The scene bled into another, older memory–unshakable, haunting. Natalie Vaughn, forever eighteen, calling his name over and over from the heart of a raging fire.
Harrison strode over and helped Felicity to her feet.
She climbed into his car, doing her best to smother the giddy satisfaction blooming
behind her smile.
“So, what are you planning to do with this bracelet?” Felicity opened her palm, holding it out to him.
“Toss it.” His voice was icy, leaving no room for argument.
“Fine by me!” Felicity replied breezily, pretending to pitch the bracelet out the
window.
With a deft flick of her wrist, she slipped it quietly into her own pocket.
*
Vaughn Manor, Study
A strikingly handsome man sat behind the desk, reviewing Selene’s medical file.
His gaze fixed on two words: “Pregnancy Terminated.”
Harrison felt as if he were drowning, lungs burning for air..
From the computer screen, he imagined hearing the frantic, insistent beating of a tiny heart–then, suddenly, silence. Pain stabbed through his chest, so sharp it doubled him over, leaving his whole body trembling.
Just then, his phone rang.
His hand shook so badly he nearly fumbled it. His chiseled features were as cold and unyielding as glacial ice.
“Mr. Vaughn, Mrs. Vaughn wants to know when the funds from the divorce
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Chapter 7
settlement will arrive in her account.”
“Transfer it to her now.” Harrison’s voice hardly sounded like his own.
On the other end, his assistant hesitated. “Mr. Vaughn, the agreement states you owe her sixty million, paid in full-”
“Give it to her,” His tone brooked no argument.
Selene came from humble beginnings. Drop sixty million on her all at once, and she’d have no idea what to do with it. To her, that money was a hot potato–too
much to hold onto.
Harrison was certain: she’d come running back before long.
*
Selene pulled her car to the curb, glancing at the notification on her phone. Sixty million had just landed in her account.
It was half of the marital assets, as stipulated in the divorce agreement. Of course, Harrison had made far more than that over the past seven years, but if she’d actually tried to take half of all he’d earned from Vaughn Enterprises, she’d never have lived to enjoy it.
Still, it was a staggering sum. Along with her new house in a prime neighborhood, Selene’s thoughts turned practical. Daph would be starting elementary school soon–where should she buy a home in a good school district? She planned to collect listings and weigh her options with care.
The stock analysis program she’d written predicted a significant market surge in the coming month; Selene decided to invest the funds for two weeks first, see how things played out.
But after seven years trapped in the Vaughn family’s gilded cage, her social circle in Capital City was painfully small. She knew who Harrison’s friends were, but trusting any of them was out of the question.
Selene reached into her purse and drew out a black business card, embossed in g
