That was why Dad terminated my job, going behind my back to tell his buddy. My boss wouldn’t have been able to let me go if I’d known. They…they were selling me to become a broodmare.
This whole thing was a setup, and I felt like an animal caught in a trap. “He was going to pay you? To marry me?”
“Yes.”
One word. That was all it took to shake the foundations of reality. None of it was real.
My shoulders sagged.
“Maybe I’ve been too easy on you.” Dad shoved me. Planting his hands on his hips, his gaze narrowed. It turned calculating. “I’ve shielded you for too long.”
“So let me help!” I shot to my feet. “How was I supposed to do the right thing if I didn’t know—”
With a hiss, Dad cut his hand through the air. “Excuses!”
Barb after barb stung my heart. I could lick my wounds later. Right now, I just wanted things to be right. To solve the problem. “Okay, I’m done with excuses. Tell me exactly what is at stake and give me a chance to fix it.”
Slowly, Dad nodded. “Good…that’s…good.”
I rubbed my arm, standing a little straighter. “What money? I have some set aside. How much do you need?”
“A hundred million,” Dad scoffed. “You got that kind of money, Amanda?”
My stomach flipped, and my knees knocked together. If there had been a seat, I would have collapsed. I came here to chew my dad out for undoing my life. I only wanted to make him proud, and his attacks felt personal. Self-serving. Now I couldn’t fathom how deep of shit we were really in.
“Why did we need that kind of money?” My voice wavered. I coughed to clear it. “That’s so much!”
“We might not.” Dad shot a look at the closed door. “Our investors might take another form of payment.”
“What investors, Dad?” I insisted.
Crossing his arms, Dad pinned me with a look. “Are you willing to step up, Amanda?”
I always do!I bit my tongue.
“Are you willing to finally stop your selfish whining and help this family?” he demanded.
“What do I have to do?” I breathed.
“Maksim will take a quarter of the money to save the capital fund,” Dad explained. “If you agree to marry him.”
My gaze snapped to the door. That smelly brute? That vulgar man who made my skin crawl?
Married.
I wanted to vomit.
“Before you say no, let me make our position crystal clear so you can’t fuck it up,” Dad hissed. “If we don’t hold up our part of the contract, that man will come for us. You. Me. Nicole. None of us will be safe.”
As he spoke, a thought tickled in the back of my mind….
Oh, shit.
Dad probably didn’t know what actually happened yesterday after I left Martha’s Vineyard. It was proof, because he believed me responsible for the masked man ruining the ceremony.
Shit…. Shit!Vincenzo married me. I reached out, stumbling for the nearest hard surface to catch me.
Surely there had to be another way! “Dad! What did you do?”
