Chase Sterling always felt like furniture. The kind you don't notice, the kind that's easy to shove in a corner and forget. He was used to it: people looked right through him, brushed him off like lint. But it only takes one phone call to erase a lifetime of being overlooked. When his estranged family meets a tragic end, Chase suddenly finds himself in charge of the sprawling Sterling fortune. Turns out, riches aren't the only thing the family left him. There's a curse running through his blood, warping love into something hungry and dangerous, impossible to escape.

Vivian Ashford never set out to blow Chase's life to smithereens. Just one decision (a sharp, ruthless move at graduation) was all it took to set their worlds spinning out of control. While Vivian soaks up the Hollywood limelight and collects red-carpet headlines, Chase slips into his new role as Manhattan's most intimidating heir. But no matter how far they run, something keeps yanking them back together, like a stitch in an old wound that refuses to heal.

Dominic calls at 8 AM the next morning, exactly six hours before the wedding, with a summons that sounds more like order than request.


"My office. One hour. Come alone. We need to discuss last night and your options for today."


I should refuse. Should tell him I'm not playing his games, not cooperating with whatever manipulation he's planning. But curiosity and dread in equal measure make me agree.


Sterling Industries headquarters is exactly what you'd expect: glass and steel, expensive art, people in suits moving with purpose toward goals they probably don't question. I'm escorted to the top floor, to Dominic's corner office that overlooks Manhattan like kingdom he rules.


He's waiting when I arrive, sitting behind a desk that costs more than my yearly income, looking satisfied in ways that prove last night's garden footage is about to become weapon.


"Sit." He gestures to the chair across from him.


Chapter 132 - Dominic's Threat