Chapter 5

The air inside the massive closet instantly turned to ice.

Hailie froze.

Her hand was still suspended in the air.

The sweet, demanding smile on her face cracked, leaving her mouth hanging open in a grotesque shape.

Edwina shoved past the tailoring assistants.

Her heels dug into the thick carpet.

She marched right up to Adrianne.

"You have made a mistake."

Edwina yelled, her voice echoing off the mirrored walls.

"You have the wrong name."

Adrianne slowly turned the heavy leather binder around.

She held it up so the overhead spotlights hit the page.

Written in flawless, gold-leaf calligraphy across the top of the order form were two words.

Gina Rollins.

"This gown was flown in from Paris three hours ago."

Adrianne.

"It was hand-altered overnight based on the exact measurements we received. It belongs exclusively to Miss Gina."

Hailie felt a physical blow to her chest.

The humiliation burned her throat.

Tears of pure, acidic jealousy welled up in her eyes.

She bit her lip so hard she tasted copper.

She spun around and ran out of the closet, her sobs echoing down the hall.

Edwina.

She glared at the doorway.

Gina stood in the hall, wearing her faded, ill-fitting clothes.

Edwina shot Gina a look of pure murder before chasing after Hailie.

Gina slowly walked into the closet.

The moment she crossed the threshold, Adrianne snapped her fingers.

The four tailoring assistants immediately stepped out into the hallway.

They pulled the heavy double doors shut behind them.

The heavy click of the lock sealed the room.

Adrianne.

Her icy, arrogant posture softened imperceptibly. She stepped forward and crouched slightly, pretending to adjust the hem of Gina's faded pants. She leaned in close, her body acting as a perfect shield from any hidden cameras. Her eyes were red. Her voice was a rapid, hushed whisper that shook with suppressed emotion. "Boss."

Gina reached down.

She gripped Adrianne.

Her eyes lost their dead, vacant stare.

They sharpened into the calculating, lethal gaze of a predator.

"Report."

Gina.

Adrianne stood up.

She grabbed a measuring tape and draped it around Gina.

She began to physically measure Gina, maintaining the cover of a fitting just in case the room was bugged.

She leaned in close.

Her voice was a rapid, hushed whisper.

"The marriage is a fraud."

Adrianne pulled the tape tight across Gina.

"Kerr Brooks is not a tech prodigy looking for a wife. He was in a massive car crash in Silicon Valley two weeks ago."

Adrianne moved to measure Gina.

"He suffered catastrophic trauma. He is in a deep, unresponsive coma. A vegetative state."

Gina did not flinch.

Her breathing remained perfectly steady.

"The Brooks family is hiding it to stop their stock from crashing."

Adrianne.

"They need a wedding to distract the media. Arthur Rollins needs the Brooks cash injection to save his failing company."

Adrianne knelt to measure the hemline.

"Arthur sold you to a dead man because he didn't want Hailie to be a widow."

Gina looked at her own reflection in the three-way mirror.

Her pale face looked like carved marble.

A low, dark chuckle vibrated in her chest.

She reached out and grabbed the brass zipper of the velvet cover.

She pulled it down.

The dress was a masterpiece.

It was midnight blue, the color of a starless sky.

Thousands of microscopic black diamonds were hand-stitched into the bodice.

Gina ran her fingertips over the cold, hard stones.

There was no sadness in her eyes.

Only the thrilling, violent spark of absolute war.

"If they want me to marry a corpse."

Gina whispered to the mirror.

"I will use his empire to bury them all alive."

"Do you want me to mobilize the dark web operatives?"

Adrianne asked, her hands shaking with anger.

"We can destroy the press conference tomorrow."

"No."

Gina dropped her hand from the dress.

"Let them play their game. Track the Brooks family money. Find out where every cent is going."

Fifteen minutes later, the heavy closet doors swung open.

Gina stepped out into the hallway.

The midnight blue gown clung to her body like a second skin.

The black diamonds caught the light, flashing like shattered glass.

She no longer slouched.

Her spine was perfectly straight.

She radiated the suffocating, terrifying aura of a queen stepping onto a battlefield.

Gustaf was walking up the stairs, holding a mug of hot coffee.

He looked up.

He saw Gina.

His jaw went slack.

His fingers lost their grip.

The ceramic mug hit the carpet.

Hot coffee splashed across his expensive shoes.

Gina did not look at him.

She lifted the heavy silk skirt.

She walked down the stairs, her heels clicking in a slow, deadly rhythm.

She looked down into the foyer.

Edwina was still hugging a crying Hailie.

Gina.

"The game begins now."