Chapter 2

Eliza POV:

I spent the night methodically erasing him. I deleted every photo, every message, every digital trace of our five years together. Then, I pulled out my laptop and began updating my resume, applying to every top-tier law firm I had once turned down for him. It was a cold, robotic process, my grief packed away in a neat little box in the corner of my mind.

The next morning, my phone buzzed with an unknown number. I almost ignored it, but a sliver of morbid curiosity made me answer.

The voice was unmistakable. Alton Thornton. Cash' s father.

"Eliza," he said, his tone as crisp and cold as a winter morning. There was no greeting, no preamble. "Be at the estate in an hour. We need to talk."

He didn't wait for a reply. The line went dead.

A shiver of apprehension traced its way down my spine. This wasn't a request; it was a summons. They knew. I wasn't sure what they knew-about the clinic, about my discovery, about the baby-but they were preparing for battle.

The old Eliza would have been terrified. But the old Eliza was gone, burned to ash in the waiting room of that clinic. A strange, icy calm settled over me. I wasn't going to run. I was going to walk straight into the lion' s den and face them.

When I arrived at the Robinson estate in Greenwich, the oppressive silence was the first thing that hit me. The grand foyer, usually bustling with staff, was still. The entire Robinson clan was assembled in the formal living room: Alton on his throne-like armchair, Cash' s mother, Eleanor, perched on the sofa beside him, and his two sisters flanking them like sentinels.

And standing next to Eleanor, her hand resting on the older woman' s shoulder in a gesture of intimate familiarity, was Catherine Yang. She was wearing a cream-colored cashmere dress, the very picture of demure elegance. A future lady of the manor.

She gave me a small, pitying smile as I entered. It was the same triumphant look I' d seen at the clinic.

I ignored them all, my gaze sweeping the room before I chose an armchair directly opposite Alton, forcing him to look at me straight on. I sat down, crossed my legs, and waited.

The silence stretched, thick with unspoken hostility.

"You' ve been a... distraction for my son for five years, Eliza," Eleanor finally said, her voice dripping with disdain. "That time is now over."

Catherine' s smile widened. She squeezed Eleanor' s shoulder affectionately.

"We are prepared to be generous," Alton cut in, his voice flat and businesslike. "For your time and... services. We will give you a check for five million dollars. In return, you will sign a non-disclosure agreement and disappear from Cash' s life. Permanently."

Five million dollars. The price they put on five years of my life. On my love. On their grandchild.

The icy calm inside me began to crack, replaced by a slow-burning rage.

"Where is Cash?" I asked, my voice steady, betraying none of the turmoil inside. "I want to hear this from him."

"Catherine is pregnant," Eleanor announced, as if this explained everything. "They are to be married next month. Cash has a duty to his family and to his child-his legitimate child."

The word legitimate was a deliberate, calculated strike. I felt it land, but refused to show the wound.

"I' ll ask one more time," I said, my voice dropping lower. "Where is Cash?"

"You insolent little..." Eleanor began, her face contorting with fury, but a commotion at the door cut her off. A maid appeared, looking flustered.

"Mr. Robinson is on his way, ma' am. He' s five minutes out."

Panic flashed in Eleanor' s eyes. She exchanged a look with Alton. This wasn' t part of their plan. They wanted me gone before he arrived.

"Get her out of here," Eleanor hissed to the two burly security guards standing by the doorway.

"Wait," Catherine said, her voice smooth as silk. "The stables are too close to the main drive. He' ll see her car. Take her to the kennels on the back acreage. He never goes there."

I saw the flash of pure malice in her eyes and I understood. She wasn' t just trying to hide me. She knew about my childhood fear of dogs, a fear so severe it was almost a phobia. A story Cash had probably told her in a moment of careless intimacy.

The guards grabbed my arms. I struggled, my heart seizing with a terror that was entirely separate from the emotional devastation of the past twenty-four hours.

"No! Don' t!"

They were too strong. They dragged me out a side door, my heels digging uselessly into the manicured lawn. The barking started before we even reached the wrought iron gate of the kennels. It was a chorus of deep, menacing growls. Dobermans. The Robinsons' prize-winning guard dogs.

They shoved me inside the enclosure and locked the gate behind me. The stench of animal and damp earth was overwhelming. Three sleek, black Dobermans began to circle me, their teeth bared, low rumbles vibrating in their chests.

My blood ran cold. I backed away slowly, my breath catching in my throat.

One of them lunged.

Searing pain shot up my leg as its teeth sank into my calf. I screamed, stumbling backward, falling hard onto the muddy ground. The other two dogs closed in, snarling, their hot breath on my face.

And then, through the fog of terror and pain, I heard his voice. Cash. He was calling my name from the direction of the house.

"Eliza? Are you here?"

A desperate, primal hope surged through me. He was here. He would save me.

But then I heard Catherine' s voice, sweet and concerned. "Cash, darling, what' s wrong? I saw her car leaving as I pulled in. She took the check and left. She said she was sorry for the trouble."

There was a pause. The world held its breath.

"She... she just left?" Cash' s voice was laced with a disbelief that shattered what was left of my heart. "Without even talking to me?"

"I' m sorry, darling," Catherine cooed. "She' s not one of us. We always knew that."

I heard the sound of their footsteps receding, the murmur of their voices fading as they walked back toward the house together.

He believed her.

Without a moment' s hesitation, he believed her.

The dog lunged again, its teeth clamping down on my arm. The world dissolved into a vortex of pain and barking and the gut-wrenching, soul-destroying sound of the man I loved walking away.

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