The taller guard shoved me through the heavy oak doors. My knees hit the cold marble floor hard. I crumpled as the door clicked shut behind me, locking me inside with them again.

"Get up," the guard ordered from the hallway before the lock engaged.

I stayed on the floor, staring at the polished wood of Julian's desk.

Julian stood a few feet away. He pulled the zipper of his trousers up, the metallic teeth grinding in the quiet room.

He didn't even look at me as he fastened his gold cufflinks and smoothed the front of his silk shirt, checking his reflection in the dark window.

Finally he lowered his gaze. His eyes dragged over my slumped form. No pity. Only cold, clinical annoyance.

"Done crying, Victoria?" he asked.

I wiped a tear from my cheek, chest heaving. "You had them drag me back in here to mock me?"

"Look at yourself," Julian sneered, stepping closer. "Pale. Hysterical. You're a mess."

My hands instinctively moved to my flat stomach—a protective shield over a life he didn't care about. The marble chilled my bare legs, but the cold radiating from my husband was worse.

"Five years ago you had nothing," I choked out. "I handled every single one of your initial equity lawsuits. I fought off your investors. I gave up my senior partner track for your business!"

He walked to his humidor and pulled out a thick cigar.

"Now I'm pregnant with your child," I said, voice rising, pointing at the spot on the rug where they had just been.

"And you let her do that in your office!"

Julian clipped the end of the cigar, struck a match, and took a long drag. He blew a thick cloud of white smoke toward the ceiling.

"So what?" His tone was entirely flat.

I stared at the man I thought I knew. The man I married.

"You're just an out-of-touch housewife now," Julian continued, tapping ash into the crystal tray. "Do you understand the current capital market? Can you help me survive a hostile takeover or navigate a proxy fight?"

I pushed myself up onto my elbows. "I built the foundation you stand on. I wrote the contracts that made you rich!"

"You did your job," he shot back, voice rising. "And now you're useless to me. You sit at home and plan dinner parties. Even in bed you're like a stiff, boring nun."

Chloe stepped out from behind the desk. She had adjusted her skirt, though her blouse remained unbuttoned, showing off her lace bra. She walked right up to Julian and pressed her body against his side.

Julian wrapped a massive hand around her waist, pulling her flush against his hip. Chloe purred, leaning her head on his shoulder. Her manicured fingers traced small, teasing circles over his exposed chest.

"Julian needs a partner who actually understands his ambition," Chloe said, eyes locked on mine. "I secure his intelligence. I find the dirt on his rivals. I do whatever it takes to make him win."

"She's a weapon," Julian agreed, kissing the top of Chloe's blonde head. "She doesn't have your pathetic moral boundaries, Victoria. She gives me exactly what I want, exactly how I want it."

"Do you even know what a hostile takeover looks like anymore?" Julian mocked. "Last week, when I bought out the rival tech firm, Chloe was the one who blackmailed their CFO. She got on her knees in a hotel room to secure the audio recording I needed. What did you do that day, Victoria? Pick out new floral arrangements for the foyer?"

"You're disgusting," I whispered.

"I'm successful," he corrected.

"I funded your first startup with my own savings!" I yelled. "When the banks laughed at you, I mortgaged my apartment. I built you!"

"And I paid you back tenfold," he stated coldly. "You have a closet full of designer clothes and a driver on call. You lack nothing."

"I lack a husband," I spat.

Chloe laughed—a high, grating sound. "You lack a spine, honey. If you wanted to keep a man like Julian, you should have learned how to beg."

"Shut your mouth," I snapped.

"Make me," she challenged, stepping away from Julian and walking toward me. She stopped a foot away, looking down at me on the floor. "You think you're so superior because you have a ring on your finger. But I have his ear. I have his trust. I have his cock. That ring is just a piece of metal."

I lunged upward, aiming for her face.

Julian was faster. He stepped between us, large hand wrapping around my wrist. He twisted my arm just enough to send a sharp jolt of pain up my shoulder, forcing me back down to the marble.

"Don't touch her," Julian warned, eyes flashing with genuine anger.

"You defend her?" I gasped, clutching my aching wrist.

"She is vital to my company," Julian said. "You're only relevant right now because you're carrying my child, and I won't have a PR disaster before this merger."

Chloe's smile widened into a viper's grin. She craved his power, feeding off the cruel energy he radiated. She wanted my title. She wanted my life.

And I had handed it to them on a silver platter. I thought my sacrifices were saving him. I thought my devotion was his salvation. Instead I was just the concrete poured into the dirt so he could build his skyscraper.

Julian took another drag of his cigar. The smoke veiled his dark eyes.

"Listen to me very carefully, Victoria," he commanded, stepping forward. He towered over me, the toe of his expensive leather shoe inches from my fingers. "Since you are pregnant, you will have this child. The Kingsley family heir must be legitimate."

"I won't let you near my baby," I spat, glaring up at him.

Julian crouched down. He grabbed my chin, fingers digging into my jaw. "You don't have a choice. You will stay in the penthouse. You will play the happy, pregnant wife for the press. I'll increase your monthly allowance so you can buy whatever useless garbage you want."

I tried to jerk my head away, but his grip tightened.

"Put away the tears," he ordered, voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "Drop this absurd moral purity. If you embarrass me in public or try to run to that rat Damian, I will destroy you. I will make sure you never see daylight, let alone this child."

He released my face with a rough shove. I caught myself on my palms, gasping.

"Take her to the car," Julian called to the guards waiting outside. "Make sure she goes straight home."

The doors swung open. The two massive men stepped in, grabbed me by the arms, and hauled me to my feet.

"You're making a mistake, Julian," I said, voice eerily calm despite the violent shaking in my hands.

"Take her away," he dismissed, turning his back and pulling Chloe into another kiss.

The guards dragged me out of the office and shoved me into the private elevator. The descent to the underground garage was suffocatingly silent. My mind raced. He had my money, my home, and now a security detail ready to lock me in a gilded cage.

They pushed me into the back of a black SUV. The locks clicked into place.

I stared out the tinted window as the city lights blurred past. Julian thought he had won. He thought stripping me of my career and threatening my unborn baby would break me into submission.

He forgot one thing.

Before I was his wife, I was the most ruthless litigator in Manhattan.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I carefully shielded the screen from the rearview mirror.

A text from an unknown number glowed in the darkness.

Damian: My car is trailing you. Get ready to jump at the next red light.

I looked up. The traffic light two blocks ahead flashed yellow, then solid red. The SUV began to slow. I slid my hand toward the door handle, heart hammering against my ribs.

The guard in the front passenger seat turned his head, eyes narrowing in the rearview mirror.

"Keep your hands where I can see them, Mrs. Kingsley," he grunted.

I met his gaze in the mirror and offered a cold, dead smile.

"I'm just getting comfortable," I replied.

The car rolled to a stop.

I yanked the handle.

The guard's massive hand clamped around my collar before my feet even touched the asphalt. Damian's black sedan swerved to avoid a passing cab, but the traffic light turned green and a wall of yellow taxis swallowed his car whole. The guards escorted me back to the penthouse under strict orders not to let me leave.

Submission brought no peace. It only invited more humiliation.

Late that night, bile burned the back of my throat. I hunched over the guest bathroom toilet, emptying my stomach until my ribs ached. The severe morning sickness drained the last ounce of fight from my muscles. I wiped my mouth with a cold towel and stepped out into the dark hallway.

A sharp, wet slapping sound echoed off the high walls.

"Oh fuck, Julian!"

The master bedroom door stood wide open. Silver moonlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a cold glow over the Central Park skyline.

It also illuminated the two naked bodies thrashing on my custom king mattress.

Julian pinned Chloe to the bed. He had her legs shoved all the way back, pale calves hooked over his thick forearms. He drove his hips forward, burying his hard cock deep into her with a violent, wet smack.

Chloe threw her head back against my silk pillows. Her heavy breasts bounced with every brutal thrust, dark pink nipples flushed and hard.

"Julian… fuck… harder!" Chloe screamed. Her fingers clawed at the expensive sheets I had personally picked out in Paris. "Fuck me to death. I'm yours. I'm ten thousand times better than your stiff fucking wife!"

Julian grunted, a cruel, rough sound tearing from his throat. He pulled almost completely out, then slammed back inside her.

"Little slut," he growled. "You're much tighter than her."

He raised his large hand and brought it down hard on her bare ass. A sharp, stinging crack rang through the room. A bright red handprint blossomed across Chloe's pale flesh.

"Fuck, yes!" Chloe moaned. Her hips bucked up to meet his violent strokes. "Ruin my pussy, Julian. Fill me with your fucking cum."

"I'm going to breed you," Julian snapped. Sweat gleamed on his broad shoulders.

The heavy oak headboard slammed repeatedly against the wall. Bang. Bang. Bang. Each impact drove a spike behind my eyes.

I stood frozen in the hallway shadows. My fists clenched so hard my fingernails broke the skin of my palms. Warm blood pooled in the creases of my hands and slid silently down my fingers to drip onto the hardwood floor.

This was my marriage bed. My sanctuary. Now it was a slaughterhouse for their sick desires.

A final, guttural shout ripped from Julian's chest. He drove his hips flush against hers, holding himself deep as he came. Chloe let out a long, trembling wail, wrapping her legs around his waist to trap him there.

For a long minute the only sounds were their heavy, wet pants.

Julian finally pulled out. A thick string of semen stretched between them before snapping onto the ruined silk sheets.

He didn't bother grabbing a towel. He snatched his black silk robe off the armchair, shoved his arms through the sleeves, and tied the belt loosely around his waist. His chest still heaved; sweat dripped from his dark hair.

He strode out of the bedroom and stopped in the hallway.

His dark eyes flicked to me. He took in my pale face, my trembling frame, and the utter exhaustion in my posture. He felt absolutely zero remorse.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out the heavy silver keys to his Maybach, and tossed them onto the floor. They clattered against the wood, sliding to a stop inches from my bare toes.

"Chloe is sleeping here tonight," Julian commanded. His tone was flat and bored. "Go book a room at the nearby Four Seasons."

I stared at the keys. "You want me to leave my own apartment so you can sleep with your secretary in my bed?"

"I want you out of my sight," Julian corrected. The smell of sex and sweat rolled off his skin. "Don't get in the way here and ruin our mood."

"This is my home." I pointed a bloody finger at the floor. "I paid the down payment on this penthouse. I picked out that bed."

"And I pay the mortgage," Julian shot back. "I pay for the electricity keeping the lights on. I pay for the clothes on your back. Pick up the keys and leave."

"No."

Julian's jaw tightened. He closed the distance between us and grabbed my upper arm. His fingers dug into my bicep like steel clamps.

"Don't test my patience tonight," he warned. "I just fucked my secretary in your bed, and I feel fantastic. Do not ruin my high."

"Or what?" I challenged, glaring up into his cold eyes. "You'll have your guards drag me out? Let the doorman see your pregnant wife thrown onto the street at two in the morning?"

"If I have to," he stated.

Chloe appeared in the bedroom doorway. She wore one of my white satin nightgowns. It hung loosely over her curves. She leaned against the doorframe, a smug, satisfied smirk playing on her red lips.

"Julian, don't be too mean to her," Chloe taunted. She ran a hand through her messy blonde hair. "She's hormonal. Plus, the Four Seasons has great room service. She can order some crackers for that nausea."

I yanked my arm out of Julian's grip. "Take off my nightgown, Chloe."

"Why?" Chloe asked, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "Julian likes it on me. He says pure white looks better on a woman who actually knows how to please him."

I took a step toward her.

Julian stepped into my path, blocking me entirely like a massive stone wall.

"I told you to leave, Victoria," he said. "Are you deaf?"

"I am not going to a hotel." My voice dropped to a harsh whisper. "I am going to the guest room. And tomorrow I am calling a moving truck."

"You aren't taking a single piece of furniture from this house," Julian snarled.

"I'm taking my clothes and my dignity," I replied. "You can keep the whore and the ruined sheets."

I turned my back on him and walked toward the guest room.

"Victoria!" Julian barked.

I didn't stop. I walked inside and slammed the door shut, twisting the lock until it clicked.

My entire body shook. I sank to the floor, leaning my spine against the cool wood of the door. The bloody crescent marks on my palms throbbed with a dull ache.

Heavy, angry footsteps approached the door.

Julian slammed his fist against the wood. The loud bang made me flinch.

"You think you can lock me out in my own house?" Julian yelled through the door. "You think you hold any cards here?"

I pressed my hands over my mouth to muffle my heavy breathing.

"I'm cutting off your cards by morning," Julian promised, voice heavy with venom. "Every credit card. Every bank account. Let's see how much dignity you have when you can't even buy a cup of coffee."

The footsteps retreated. The master bedroom door clicked shut.

I sat in the dark, the silence pressing down on me like a physical weight. He was going to cut me off entirely. He was going to trap me here with no money, no escape, and no power.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket. The screen lit up the dark room.

I had one unread message from Damian.

I saw what happened. The guards are gone for the night. I left something in your mailbox downstairs. Get it before sunrise. It changes everything.