The afternoon sun beat down on the sprawling gardens of the Hamptons estate, but Andrea felt nothing but a cold, heavy exhaustion in her bones. She walked alone along the gravel path, trying to force oxygen into her tight lungs. The encounter in the study had left her nerves completely frayed.

She turned a corner near the rose bushes and stopped.

Kia Hunt was standing in the middle of the path, flanked by three of her wealthy, perfectly manicured socialite friends. They formed a human wall, blocking Andrea's way.

Kia looked Andrea up and down, her lips curling into a vicious sneer. "Look at this," Kia said loudly to her friends. "Did you buy that skirt at a discount outlet? It looks like something my maid would wear on her day off."

The socialites erupted into high-pitched, grating laughter.

Andrea's jaw tightened. She didn't have the energy for this high-school bullying. She kept her face completely blank and stepped to the side, attempting to walk around them on the grass.

As she passed, Kia suddenly thrust her arm out and shoved Andrea hard in the shoulder.

Andrea lost her balance. She stumbled sideways, her high heel sinking deep into a patch of muddy soil near the sprinklers. Mud splattered across her expensive leather shoes and the hem of her skirt.

"Oh, my apologies," Kia gasped with fake innocence. "I forgot fakes don't have good balance. You're so used to crawling on your knees, aren't you?"

The laughter grew louder, piercing Andrea's eardrums. Andrea slowly pulled her ruined shoe out of the mud. She looked up, her eyes locking onto Kia's. Her gaze was so cold, so dead, that one of the socialites actually stopped laughing and took a step back.

Kia crossed her arms, trying to maintain her bravado. "Since you're already dirty, go to the kitchen. Tell Maria to bring our afternoon tea to the patio. And make it quick. I hate waiting."

A surge of hot, violent anger flared in Andrea's chest. She wanted to slap the smug look off Kia's face. But Gregory's threat from the hallway echoed in her mind. I can throw you out right now. She needed to stay in the house. She needed access to the network.

Andrea swallowed the bile in her throat. She turned her back on them, keeping her spine rigid, and walked toward the service entrance.

The kitchen was a massive, chaotic space of stainless steel and white marble. Maria, the head housekeeper, was barking orders at two maids. When she saw Andrea walk in, Maria rolled her eyes and let out a loud huff.

"Miss Hunt wants her tea on the patio," Andrea said evenly.

Maria smirked. She walked over to the counter and aggressively pushed a massive, ornate silver tray toward Andrea. It was loaded with heavy bone china teapots, cups, and tiered pastry stands.

"Since you're not doing anything useful," Maria said, her tone dripping with disrespect, "you can carry it out. We are very busy."

Andrea stared at the heavy tray. This was a deliberate humiliation. A test to see how far they could push the unwanted wife.

Without a word, Andrea gripped the handles of the silver tray. She lifted it. The weight was immense. The veins on the back of her hands popped against her pale skin, but she stabilized it. She turned and began to walk toward the patio doors.

Just as she reached the threshold, Maria suddenly stepped directly into her path, her shoulder slamming hard into Andrea's arm.

The heavy tray tilted violently.

Andrea gasped, her muscles straining as she fought to keep the tray from crashing to the floor. She managed to level it, but a wave of boiling hot tea sloshed out of the spout of the teapot.

The scalding liquid poured directly over Andrea's left hand.

A sharp, agonizing burn seared through her skin. Andrea bit the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted copper, refusing to scream. Her knuckles turned bright red instantly.

"Oh, watch your step," Maria said, not a single ounce of apology in her voice. "That bone china is a family heirloom. It's worth more than you."

Andrea's breathing turned shallow from the pain. She didn't look at Maria. She carried the heavy tray out to the patio and set it down heavily on the wrought-iron table in front of Kia.

Kia looked at the spilled tea on the tray and wrinkled her nose. "What took you so long? Did you crawl here?"

"Andrea."

The voice cracked through the air like a bullwhip.

Everyone froze. Andrea looked up.

Gregory was standing on the second-floor balcony overlooking the patio. He held a crystal glass of whiskey in one hand. His face was a mask of terrifying, cold annoyance. His dark eyes were locked onto Andrea.

"Are you incapable of walking in a straight line, Andrea?" Gregory's voice was dangerously quiet, yet it carried across the entire garden. "Or are you just determined to embarrass me?"

Kia smiled smugly. "Gregory, I just... she tripped over her own feet."

Gregory walked down the stairs and stepped onto the patio. He ignored the spilled tea. He ignored the terrified socialites. He walked straight to Andrea. He looked at her blistering red hand, his jaw clenching, but his eyes remained devoid of any warmth.

"Clean this up," Gregory said, looking at Maria. Then he turned back to Andrea. "Go upstairs and change. You look pathetic. Genevra would never have allowed herself to be covered in mud like a stray dog."

Maria smirked, nodding quickly. Kia let out a high-pitched laugh. Gregory turned his back on Andrea and walked back into the house, leaving her standing alone with a scalding burn and a shattered pride.

Andrea stood in the center of the patio. Her hand was throbbing with a fiery pain. She looked at the red skin, then up at Gregory's retreating back. Her chest tightened with a confusing, suffocating pressure. He hadn't defended her. He had humiliated her. Was she truly nothing more than a punching bag for his grief?

The throbbing pain in Andrea's hand made sleep impossible. The burn ointment she had found in the master bathroom offered a cooling sensation, but the deep tissue ache kept her awake.

At 1:00 AM, she gave up. She slipped out of the massive king-sized bed, careful not to wake Gregory, who was sleeping on the far edge. She pulled a silk robe over her nightgown and quietly left the bedroom, heading down to the wine cellar to find something strong enough to knock her out.

The Hamptons estate was dead silent. The air in the basement corridor was damp and chilled.

As Andrea approached the heavy arched doorway of the wine cellar, she heard voices. Low, tense voices. She froze. Her bare feet made no sound on the stone floor as she pressed her back against the cold wall, peeking around the corner.

Gregory was standing in the center of the cellar, illuminated by the dim amber lights. Across from him stood Julian Morse, Gregory's half-brother. Julian was swirling a glass of red wine, a nasty, arrogant smirk on his face.

Andrea quickly slipped inside the cellar, hiding behind a massive, floor-to-ceiling rack of oak barrels. The smell of fermented grapes and damp wood filled her nose. She held her breath.

"I heard the news," Julian sneered, taking a sip of his wine. "You're actually keeping that fake around? Don't be stupid, Gregory. She's a low-class social climber. She's using you."

Gregory let out a dark, humorless laugh. He leaned against a wine rack, crossing his arms. "Better a social climber than a useless parasite who can't even secure his own inheritance."

Julian's face darkened. He slammed the wine glass down on a tasting barrel. The dark liquid splashed over the rim. "You really think having a bastard kid is going to get you the CEO seat? The board hates you."

Gregory lunged forward. He grabbed Julian by the lapels of his expensive jacket, slamming him hard against the stone wall. The impact echoed loudly.

"I know exactly what happened the night Genevra died, Julian," Gregory snarled, his face inches from his brother's. "I know Andrea had nothing to do with the car crash."

Julian's eyes widened in pure terror. "Then... why did you marry her? Why do you treat her like dirt?"

"Because," Gregory said, his lips curling into a demonic smile, "every time I look at her face, I see the woman I lost. And making Andrea suffer is the only thing that numbs the pain. She is my punching bag. And I will break her until there's nothing left."

Behind the oak barrels, Andrea's heart stopped beating. The blood drained from her head so fast she felt dizzy. She pressed her hand hard over her mouth to stop the gasp from escaping.

He knew she was innocent. He knew she didn't cause the accident. He watched her try to be a good wife, and instead of letting her go, he used her as a psychological toy to vent his twisted grief.

Julian swallowed hard, trying to maintain his composure. "So what? She was a gold digger. She practically threw herself at me."

Gregory's grip tightened. "She is my wife now. If you or your mother ever try to touch her again, I will bury you so deep you won't see daylight again."

Julian shoved Gregory away, frantically adjusting his jacket. He was shaking. "You're sick, Gregory. You think Father will let you get away with this?"

"Try me," Gregory said coldly.

Julian didn't say another word. He turned and practically ran out of the wine cellar.

The heavy silence rushed back into the room. Andrea sank down to the cold floor, her back sliding against the oak barrel. Her chest heaved as she struggled to pull air into her lungs.

It was a setup. Her entire downfall was orchestrated by Eleanor and Julian. But the most horrifying realization hit her like a freight train: Gregory knew.

He knew she was innocent. He knew she was drugged. He watched her walk into his room, and instead of helping her, he used the situation to trap her in a marriage to secure his own power. He was the ultimate predator.

Footsteps echoed on the stone floor. Slow. Deliberate.

Andrea froze. The footsteps were coming toward her aisle.

Gregory stopped right at the edge of the oak barrels. He didn't look behind them. He didn't expose her. He simply reached out and pulled a bottle of vintage Bordeaux from the rack just inches from where Andrea was hiding.

He held the bottle up to the dim light.

"Some rats," Gregory murmured, his voice low and smooth, echoing perfectly in the quiet space, "are much more entertaining when you keep them in a cage."

He turned and walked out of the cellar.

Andrea squeezed her eyes shut, tears of pure, unadulterated rage burning her eyes. She bit down on her knuckles to keep quiet.

He knew she was there. He had orchestrated that entire conversation just to let her know she was his prisoner.

She looked at her trembling hands in the dark. She wasn't just a victim anymore. She was a weapon in his war. But Gregory Morse had made a fatal miscalculation. He thought he had tamed her.

Andrea's eyes hardened, the tears drying instantly. You think you're consuming me, Gregory? We'll see who eats who.