“Thankfully through counseling, she finally began to live again, but she was different. Then I noticed changes. Suddenly, she’d appear in new clothes, lavish clothes there was no way we could afford. She said she had an admirer. She seemed happier. Then I barely saw her. She was staying out late. Phone calls. Just different things. It was crazy. When I finally confronted her, she told me she was in love.”
“Just like that.”
“Just like that. Long and short, she fell in love with a powerful man.”
“This real estate developer you mentioned.” His nostrils were flared as if he was putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
“Yes. Walter Emmett. When I finally met him, I instantly didn’t like him. I didn’t find out who he was for a couple months. By then, she was a completely different woman. No one I recognized any longer.”
“Why?”
I laughed. “Not only was he one of the richest men in Savannah, but his fucking son was a huge bully. He ran the high school. He was older than me and as soon as he figured out I was the daughter of the woman his father was seeing, I became the target. I’m not just talking about locker pranks. I’m talking about stalking and strange things showing up like dead roses. It was crazy. I tried to ignore his antics, but he and his friends made it their mission to terrorize me. I think they did because I wasn’t one of the girls who fawned all over them. They had plenty of those, but they wanted me as their plaything.”
I could tell by Sinclair’s body language he was shifting from trying his best to listen without judgment to absolute rage. And I wanted him to be angry. To be my hero.
Even if I knew that was impossible.
“What did your mother say?”
I had to laugh, taking another sip of wine. “She was too busy planning their wedding getaway. She was lost in the man. I tried my best to talk to her about Zane, but she just said boys will be boys. I was forced to live in this big house with them, hating every moment of it.”
“Did Zane touch you? Did he fucking touch you?” He caressed my cheek and the feel of the rough pads of his fingers was even more soothing than his passionate kisses. I closed my eyes briefly, struggling with how different he could be from one minute to another.
Even so, I found it difficult to answer him.
“Tell me, Josette. I need to know.” The darkness in his tone was thrilling.
“He tried a few times in the beginning, but I fought him off. Then he told me he was sorry for his atrocious behavior, even becoming nicer to me. Things were almost normal for a little while. Or I was just naïve. I went off to college about forty-five minutes away. Posh and for all the elite children in the South. He was ruling another university, but for a little while, I was free of his bullshit.”
Sinclair was even more attentive, but the rise and fall of his chest was a clear indication he was furious I’d been touched at all.
“My stepfather had insisted and paid for my college. I had no other options. I’d already decided as soon as I got my degree, I was moving far away. I made the best of it. I was out of the house, working toward my degree. Until my mother asked me to visit her. I did. She told me I was getting married to some son of a bigwig friend of my stepfather. If you think I’m rebellious now, then I was a wild child at that point just to keep myself sane. It all sounds crazy, but I swear to you that’s what happened. And I knew in the back of my mind that my life would be made miserable if I’d stayed. You should have seen Zane when he gloated over it, acting as if my future husband would be sharing me. With my own stepbrother.”
Sinclair narrowed his eyes and I could tell he was doing everything in his power to keep from overreacting in my presence.
“A true pig.”
“From what I learned later, women were chosen for them. Arranged. Why me I had no idea, although both my mother and Zane made the arrangement sound as if my supposed fiancé’s father was doing Walter a big favor. You know, marry the sad little goth girl.”
“Fuck. It’s not crazy at all, Josette. There are worlds where women are seen as commodities and nothing else, used to forge alliances and control everything from governments to the power wielded by influential families. Who are you?”
“Daniella. My name is Daniella Dunham.”
His fingertips brushed down from my cheek to my neck, his index finger slowly swirling around my angry pulse. When hedropped his hand completely, he fisted his fingers. The look in his eyes was terrifying.
“Who was your father?”
“Jameson Dunham.”
“And who are these other monsters?”
I squeezed his arm. “You can’t fight them, Sinclair. They are too powerful.”
The way he laughed sent a shiver down my spine. “You underestimate both me and my family. Who are they?”
“Don’t you understand that not only is my stepfather very powerful, but he’s one of a dozen? Maybe three dozen. All wealthy families with ties to everything from politics to commerce. The largest and some of the wealthiest men are involved. You’re one family.”
His laugh continued. “With significant connections of our own. Tell me.”
