Chapter 2

Harper's POV:

My first call was to the family lawyer. His name was Marcus, a man whose loyalty was bought and paid for by the Stark family.

"I want a divorce," I said, my voice flat and empty.

Silence. Then, a nervous cough. "Mrs. Stark... Harper. Is Eli aware of this?"

"He will be," I replied and hung up.

My second call was to the head butler. "I want every photograph of me and my husband moved into the garden. Now."

Under the cold light of the moon, I stood in the manicured garden of our penthouse prison. The staff had stacked the gold and silver frames in a high pile. A decade of my life: our wedding, vacations, stolen moments that I now knew were built on a foundation of lies.

I doused the pile in lighter fluid. The flames shot up with a greedy roar, consuming the smiling faces, melting the silver, turning ten years of memories into a column of black smoke that stained the night sky.

I saved only the photos of my son, Leo.

My phone buzzed. A text from Jenna.

I've moved some things around. We can do it sooner than I thought. There's a way out, Harper. Just say the word.

Hope. It was a foreign feeling, a fragile spark in the vast, cold darkness of my heart.

The smell of smoke still hung in the air when Eli came home. He walked into the garden, his face a mask of concern. He didn't ask what I had done. He didn't have to.

"Oh, my love," he whispered, his voice a low, cloying murmur. He swept me into his arms, lifting me as if I were a broken doll, and carried me through the penthouse to our bedroom. It wasn't an act of love. It was an act of possession.

He laid me on the bed and sat beside me, pulling a thick, leather-bound folder from his briefcase.

"I know you're in pain, Harper," he said softly. "I know you think I don't understand. But I do. And I want to prove it."

He fanned the papers out on the silk duvet. A contract. He was transferring fifty-one percent of the Stark Organization's legitimate front businesses into my name. Hotels, shipping companies, real estate. Billions of dollars.

It wasn't a gift. It was a chain, forged in gold, designed to bind me to him forever.

"You are the queen of this empire, Harper. You and no one else," he murmured, his eyes intense.

Then he produced two small, elegant boxes. He opened one, revealing a delicate, diamond-studded watch. He clasped it around my wrist. It was cool and heavy. He fastened the matching one on his own.

"They monitor our heart rates," he said, his thumb stroking my pulse point. "So I'll always know you're safe. So I can feel your heart beating with mine."

My stomach turned. It wasn't for safety. It was a tracker. A leash.

"Promise me," he commanded, his voice dropping to the low, dangerous tone he reserved for orders, not requests. "Promise me you'll never leave me."

I said nothing.

The charity gala a week later was his stage. He stood before the city's elite, a loving husband supporting his grieving wife. He announced the share transfer, painting it as a tribute to my strength. The room applauded. I felt like a prized mare being shown off at auction.

Then came the real performance.

"And in that spirit of family," Eli announced, his voice booming, "I have a surprise for my beautiful wife. A way for us to heal. To build a new future."

He gestured to the side of the stage. A small boy, no older than four, walked out. It was the boy from the brownstone. Cody Sharpe.

"I am officially adopting a son," Eli declared.

The boy ran to me, his arms outstretched. "Mommy!" he yelled, the word sounding rehearsed, a line fed to him for the benefit of the crowd.

I was forced to catch him, to hold the living, breathing proof of my husband's betrayal in my arms while the cameras flashed. My body went rigid. The boy smelled of Kasey's perfume.

Just then, Kasey herself appeared, rushing onto the stage with a frantic, apologetic expression.

"Oh, Mr. Stark, I am so sorry for the interruption," she said, playing her part beautifully. "Cody has a severe allergy, he can't be around flowers." She was dressed as a social worker, her clothes drab, her hair pulled back. The perfect picture of professional concern.

Eli feigned a flash of fury, grabbing her arm and pulling her away. "What is the meaning of this?" he hissed, loud enough for those nearby to hear. "You are ruining everything."

I followed them into a service corridor just off the stage. The illusion shattered the moment the door swung shut. He didn't release her. He pulled her into a heated embrace, his hand tangled in her hair.

"You're a better actress than I thought," he murmured against her lips.

Kasey laughed. "You're not so bad yourself, my Don."

My breath hitched. I backed away, but not before the boy, Cody, saw me. He was still standing by my feet.

He looked up at me, his face twisting into a sneer that was all Kasey. "You're not my mom," he spat, and then he dug his small, sharp fingernails into my arm, drawing blood.

Eli and Kasey emerged from the corridor. Eli's eyes swept over me, then the scratch on my arm, and his face hardened.

"Take Cody home, Harper," he ordered, his voice cold. He turned to Kasey, his expression softening instantly. "We have to go finalize the adoption paperwork."

He was leaving with her. And he was sending me home with his bastard son.