“Stay exactly where you are, sweetheart. It has already started.”
And then Nathan’s phone began ringing nonstop.
He had no idea what was about to happen.
At first, Nathan still thought he was in control.
He looked at his phone with irritation, as if a call could possibly be more inconvenient than seeing his wife bleeding on the floor.
“Not now,” he muttered.
He hung up.
The phone rang again.
Then Madison’s phone started ringing.
Then the house phone.
And before Nathan could say another word, the front door burst open.
His assistant, Ryan, rushed inside, pale as paper, his suit jacket soaked from the rain outside.
“Mr. Brooks,” he said, nearly breathless. “We have an emergency.”
Nathan clenched his jaw.
“What the h3ll is going on?”
Ryan looked at me on the floor, saw the bl00d, saw the riding crop in Nathan’s hand, and immediately lowered his eyes.
“The investment trust has been frozen. First National has ordered an urgent review of all Brooks Group accounts. The merger with Northern Development has been suspended. The board wants an immediate call.”
Nathan froze.
“That’s impossible.”
My father’s voice came calmly through my phone.
“Sophia, don’t move. Security is already outside the house.”
Madison stepped back.
“What is happening?”
I held the phone against my chest.
“Thank you, Dad.”
Nathan stared at me as if he were seeing me for the first time.
“Who is your father?”
I used a nearby side table to pull myself up. Every movement burned through my back, but I was done kneeling.
“The man who warned me not to marry you.”
Ryan swallowed hard.
“Sir… there’s more. Harrington Capital has withdrawn its credit guarantee.”
The color drained from Nathan’s face.
Harrington Capital was the hidden foundation beneath everything he bragged about.
His towers in Chicago.
His residential developments in Austin.
His political donations.
His dinners with governors.
His rented private jets that helped him look richer than he truly was.
Without that guarantee, his empire wouldn’t survive a week.
Madison frowned.
“Harrington? What does she have to do with Harrington Capital?”
I looked directly at her.
“My name isn’t Sophia Miller.”
Nathan stopped breathing for a second.
“My name is Sophia Harrington Wells.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
Madison whispered:
“No…”
“Yes,” I replied. “I’m Charles Harrington’s daughter.”
The silence that followed landed like a sentence.
Nathan stepped backward as if the floor had opened beneath his Italian shoes.
“You said you didn’t want your family involved.”
“I didn’t,” I said. “I wanted to know if you loved me when you believed I had nothing.”
His eyes shook.
There was the answer.
Ugly.
Late.
Final.
PART 3
Five minutes after my call, Nathan Brooks’s life began falling apart right in front of him.
His phone wouldn’t stop lighting up.
Chairman of the Board.
Bank.
Attorney.
Chief Financial Officer.
Unknown Number.
Unknown Number.
Unknown Number.
He accidentally answered one call on speaker.
A furious voice filled the room.
“Nathan! What did you do? Harrington Capital pulled everything. Creditors are demanding immediate payment. Reporters are asking about fraud and domestic vi0lence. Tell me this isn’t true!”
Nathan shouted:
“Shut up!”
