Chapter 6 Morning Judgment in the Penthouse

Blinding morning sunlight pierced the floor-to-ceiling windows, striking Kaia directly in the face.

She gasped and shot up in the massive, unfamiliar bed.

A violent headache slammed into her skull. Her muscles ached as if she had been hit by a freight train.

She stared wildly at the room. It was massive, decorated in cold grays and blacks. It looked like a billionaire's museum.

Fragmented, terrifying memories from last night exploded in her brain.

The back of the car. The heat. The desperate kissing. The elevator.

Kaia stopped breathing. She yanked the silk duvet back.

Her skin was covered in faint, undeniable red marks.

She let out a choked sob of pure horror.

She looked at the floor at the foot of the bed. Her conservative black blouse was torn. Her tights were shredded.

She buried her face in her hands. Her stomach churned with panic.

She had slept with the CEO of Vantage Group. She was going to be fired. She was going to be sued into oblivion.

She forced herself to look up. On the velvet armchair in the corner, a pristine set of clothes was neatly folded.

The tags were still attached. It was a Chanel autumn casual set.

Kaia had no choice. She scrambled out of bed, rushed into the marble bathroom, scrubbed her face, and put on the impossibly expensive clothes. They fit her perfectly.

Her hands shook as she turned the heavy brass doorknob of the bedroom.

She stepped out into a cavernous, open-concept living room.

Camden William sat at the massive marble kitchen island.

He wore a perfectly tailored dark gray suit. He held a cup of black coffee.

His eyes cut through the steam, locking onto Kaia the second she appeared.

His face was a mask of pure ice. There was absolutely no trace of the desperate, out-of-control man from the back of the Rolls-Royce.

Kaia swallowed hard. Her throat clicked. She walked forward, stopping exactly ten feet away from him.

"Mr. William," she stammered, her voice trembling. "I am so sorry. I was drugged. I didn't know what I was doing. I swear I wasn't trying to-"

"Stop talking," Camden ordered. His voice was flat and commanding.

He pushed a thick black folder across the marble surface. It stopped near the edge.

Kaia stared at it. Her heart hammered against her ribs. It was the NDA. The termination papers.

"Open it," Camden commanded.

Kaia stepped forward. Her trembling fingers flipped the heavy cover open.

It wasn't an NDA.

It was a comprehensive background check on Kasen Griffin.

Kaia's eyes widened as she scanned the pages. It detailed the exact size of Kasen's multi-million-dollar trust fund. It listed the political connections of his fiancée's family in the Hamptons.

She jerked her head up, staring at Camden in absolute confusion. "Why do you have this?"

Camden took a slow sip of his coffee.

"This is the man you are currently involved with," Camden said, his tone clinical and cruel. "A sociopath who enjoys playing with the lower class. He likes the power."

Kaia's face flushed with humiliation. Before she could speak, Camden delivered his next line like a death sentence.

"Break up with him."

Kaia stared at him, baffled. "What?"

"I don't share," Camden said, his voice dropping to a low, possessive growl. He set his mug down with a sharp click. "The woman who was in my bed last night will not be in his tonight. Is that clear?"

The sheer arrogance of the command stunned her into silence for a moment. Then, a strange, hollow laugh escaped her lips. "I already did," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I broke up with him last night. Before... before any of this."

Camden's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. A flicker of something-surprise? annoyance?-crossed his face before the mask of ice slammed back into place. He stood up.

His massive frame instantly dominated the room. He walked slowly around the island, closing the distance between them.

He stopped inches from her. Kaia had to tilt her head back to look at his face.

"Then you should know," Camden said softly, his eyes boring into hers, "a man like Kasen Griffin does not accept rejection from someone he considers property. He will use his capital to destroy you. He will freeze you out of every apartment, every job, every bank in this city."

Kaia's fingernails bit into her palms. She knew he was right. The reality of Kasen's wealth terrified her.

As Kaia's breathing hitched in panic, Camden reached back to the folder.

He pulled out a second document, bound in heavy legal paper, and held it out to her.