Chapter 6

Harrison's grip was a vise on her wrist. He pulled her toward the headstone, his jaw clenched so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek. Arlene dug her heels into the soft earth, resisting with every ounce of her strength, but it was useless. He was too strong.

Just as they reached the edge of the grave, he stopped. He let go of her wrist so suddenly she stumbled, catching herself on the edge of the granite base.

He didn't push her down. Instead, he reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. He pulled out a folded piece of paper. It was thick, expensive stationery, the kind used for legal documents.

He unfolded it, the paper rattling in the wind. He looked down at it, his eyes scanning the lines.

"You think your family is innocent," he said, his voice cutting through the howling wind. "Let me refresh your memory."

He began to read. It was a litany of sins. A detailed, chronological account of every transaction, every backroom deal, every betrayal. He read about how Parker Group executives had used insider information to lure Boyle Investments into a risky merger. How they had shorted their own stock right before the deal fell apart. How they had stripped the company's assets and left Jonathan Boyle holding the bag.

The words were precise, clinical, and utterly devastating. He listed dates, amounts, names. It was a blueprint of ruin.

Arlene stood there, the wind cutting through her thin jacket like a knife. She was shivering violently, her teeth chattering so hard she thought they would crack. The cold was a physical assault, seeping into her bones, making her joints ache.

But it was the words that hurt more. She wanted to argue, to defend her father, but the details were too specific. The numbers matched. The timeline was flawless. A sickening doubt began to crawl through her stomach, a poison that ate away at her certainty.

Was it true? Had her father, the man who had taught her to ride a bike and read her bedtime stories, really done those things? Was her entire life a lie built on the bones of another man's despair?

The standing, the cold, the emotional onslaught-it was too much. A wave of dizziness washed over her. The edges of her vision blurred. The pain in her lower abdomen, which had been a dull ache all morning, suddenly sharpened into a stabbing cramp. She gasped, doubling over.

Harrison kept reading. He was relentless, his voice a steady drone in the growing storm. He didn't notice her pallor. He didn't see the way she was clutching her stomach.

He finished the last paragraph. He folded the paper, the motion sharp and final. He tossed it onto the grave. It landed on the fresh flowers that had been laid there earlier, a white flag of surrender.

He looked up, his eyes expecting to see her broken, submissive. Instead, he saw a ghost. Her face was the color of ash, her lips blue. She was swaying on her feet, her eyes unfocused.

A flicker of something-surprise, concern-crossed his face. It was gone in an instant, buried under the ice.

"Well?" he demanded. "Do you have anything to say now?"

Arlene couldn't speak. The pain in her abdomen was a living thing, twisting and clawing. She needed to sit. She needed to get warm. She needed to get away from him.

"Take me home," she whispered, the words barely audible.

Harrison stared at her for a long moment. He took in her trembling form, her vacant eyes. He thought he saw defeat. He thought he had won.

"Get in the car," he said, turning on his heel.

He grabbed her arm again, propelling her toward the Bentley. He shoved her into the back seat, the leather cold against her bare legs. He slid in beside her, slamming the door shut.

The driver pulled away, the tires crunching on the gravel. The heater blasted warm air, but Arlene couldn't stop shivering. She curled into the corner, her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her stomach. The pain was getting worse, a rhythmic squeezing that took her breath away.

Harrison watched her from the other side of the seat. His eyes were dark, his expression unreadable. He had expected tears. He had expected begging. He hadn't expected this fragile, broken creature.

The sight of her vulnerability ignited something ugly inside him. It wasn't pity. It was a desire to push harder, to break her completely. He wanted to see her shatter.

"Pull over," he said to the driver.

The car slowed, stopping on the side of the deserted road. Tall trees pressed in on all sides, blocking out the sky.

The driver pressed a button. The privacy screen rose, sealing the back seat into a soundproof cocoon. The partition clicked into place, and they were alone.

Harrison unbuckled his seatbelt. He moved toward her, his large frame filling the space. The back seat of the Bentley was spacious, but suddenly it felt like a coffin.

"You thought it was over?" he asked, his voice a low rumble. He reached out, his fingers tracing the line of her jaw. The touch was light, almost gentle, but his eyes were anything but.

Arlene flinched away from his hand, pressing herself deeper into the door. Panic clawed at her throat. Not again. Not now. Not when the baby was in danger.

His hand moved down, resting on her thigh. His thumb rubbed a slow circle on the inside of her knee.

"Please," she whispered, the word tearing from her throat. "Don't."

The pain in her stomach was a siren in her head. The cramping was coming in waves now, each one stronger than the last. She could feel the sweat breaking out on her forehead, the cold clamminess of her skin.

She had to stop him. She had to protect her child. No matter what it took.