Chapter 4

Delmus yanked his arm out of Brandin's grip. His chest heaved with angry breaths. He stepped back, his eyes still glaring at Katrina, but he kept his hands at his sides.

Adelbert watched the violence fail. He cleared his throat loudly, demanding the room's attention.

He leaned heavily on his cane and took a step closer to Katrina. The fake warmth was gone. Now, he was negotiating.

"Katrina," Adelbert said, his voice formal and stiff. "As the head of the Meyer family, I formally apologize to you. When Coleton is brought back, I will punish him severely. You will have your justice."

Katrina looked at him with dead eyes. "What kind of punishment erases the humiliation of a bride abandoned on her wedding night?"

Adelbert didn't miss a beat. He snapped his fingers. An assistant rushed forward and handed him a leather-bound folder. Adelbert held it out to her.

"I am prepared to add five percent of the joint venture shares directly into your personal name," Adelbert offered.

Katrina stared at the paper. The ink represented millions of dollars. Her stomach churned. In their eyes, her dignity was just a commodity with a price tag.

She reached out and pushed the folder away. The paper crinkled under her fingers. "Coleton broke the most basic vow of loyalty. You can't buy that back."

From behind Brandin, his wife Eleanor suddenly stepped forward. She crossed her arms, looking at Katrina with the arrogant superiority of someone who had survived years of misery.

"Men make mistakes, Katrina," Eleanor said, her tone dripping with condescension. "The most important thing a woman in our position can learn is how to shut her mouth and endure. Think of the bigger picture."

Katrina's head snapped toward her sister-in-law. Her eyes were like daggers.

"Shut your mouth, Eleanor," Katrina commanded. The sheer force of her voice made Eleanor flinch. "Don't project your pathetic life onto me. Everyone knows you beg for scraps of attention from Brandin just to keep up appearances. I am not you."

Eleanor's face turned a blotchy, embarrassed red. She gasped, stepping backward until she was hiding behind Brandin's shoulder again. She didn't say another word.

Brandin glared at Katrina. He looked at her like she was a rabid dog biting everyone in the room.

"Fine," Brandin snapped. He threw his hands up. "We do a compromise. We tell the press you two left early for a private, six-month honeymoon. We freeze the crisis."

Katrina stared at him. Then, she laughed.

It was a loud, bitter laugh that bounced off the walls of the suffocating room.

She stopped laughing abruptly. Her eyes locked onto Brandin's. "My marriage is not a prop for your PR department."

Adelbert's face darkened. The bribes didn't work. The compromises didn't work. A dangerous, violent shadow crossed the old man's eyes.

He realized normal tactics were useless against this woman. He needed to force her hand.

Adelbert turned his head slightly. He locked eyes with Rocco, the massive security chief standing by the door. Adelbert gave him a single, cold nod.

Rocco understood immediately. He turned and marched out of the suite.

Katrina ignored the exchange. She turned around and grabbed the handle of her Hermes suitcase. She was done talking.

She took one step toward the door.

Brandin lunged. His large hand slammed down over hers on the suitcase handle, pinning it in place.

He leaned in close, his breath hot against her ear. "If you walk out that door, Katrina, I will freeze every single family trust fund under your name. You will have nothing."

Katrina looked down at his hand. His knuckles were white from the force. She slowly lifted her head. There was zero fear in her eyes.

"I moved my core assets into independent offshore accounts three months ago," Katrina said, her voice a deadly whisper. "You don't control my money, Brandin." She watched the shock register on his face. She hadn't done it because she planned to leave Coleton. She had done it because she was a Pennington, raised in a world where trust was a liability. It was supposed to be a standard, paranoid insurance policy-a fail-safe she had desperately hoped she would never actually need to trigger. But standing here now, she was bitterly grateful for her own cold pragmatism.

Brandin's eyes widened in pure shock. His grip loosened for a fraction of a second.

Katrina ripped the suitcase handle out of his hand.

She turned to walk out.

Just as she took her first step, the heavy double doors were violently shoved open from the hallway.

Rocco walked in. His massive fist was twisted into the collar of Coleton's expensive dress shirt. He was dragging the heir to the Meyer empire like a stray dog.

Rocco shoved his arm forward.

Coleton stumbled into the room, losing his footing. His hair was a mess. His shirt was wrinkled and pulled tight across his throat. He looked absolutely pathetic.

The tension in the room instantly skyrocketed.