"We're not going to the hotel," Isa said as the car bypassed the turn for the Pierre.

"No," Gerhardt replied, not looking up from his phone. "We're going to Teterboro. The jet is waiting."

"Jet? Where are we going?"

"Las Vegas."

Isa blinked. "You're joking. A drive-thru wedding?"

"New York has a twenty-four-hour waiting period. I don't have twenty-four hours. The board meets Monday morning."

Two hours later, they were at 40,000 feet. The interior of the Gulfstream was cream and gold. A team of three lawyers sat on one side of the table. Isa sat on the other, a fresh change of clothes-a white power suit provided by his assistant-draped over her frame.

A document the size of a phone book landed in front of her.

"The Prenuptial Agreement," the lead lawyer, a weasel-faced man named Sterling, announced. "Standard terms. In the event of divorce, you leave with what you came with. Which, currently, is a suitcase of wet clothes."

Isa opened the document. She pulled a red pen from the holder.

"Clause 4.2," she said, circling a paragraph. "Infidelity. If he cheats, the NDA is void, and I get twenty percent of his liquid assets."

Sterling scoffed. "Mr. Phillips does not cheat."

"Then it shouldn't be a problem to sign it," she countered, flipping the page. "Clause 12. Section B. 'Wifely Duties'." She looked up at Gerhardt. "Define duties."

Gerhardt signaled the lawyers to leave. They filed out into the cockpit cabin, looking offended.

"Sleep," Gerhardt said.

"Excuse me?"

"You are required to sleep in my bed. Every night."

Isa felt her face heat up. "I'm not a sex doll, Gerhardt. If you want sex, that's a separate negotiation."

He looked at her with a mix of amusement and exhaustion. "Not sex, Isa. Sleep. Actual sleep. Unconsciousness."

He leaned forward, his elbows on the table. "I have... difficulty sleeping. Last night, with you, was the first time in ten years I slept more than two hours without medication. You are a biological anomaly. My anchor."

Isa stared at him. "You want me to be your teddy bear."

"Call it what you want. But if you aren't in the bed, the deal is off."

She tapped the pen against her chin. This was bizarre. But it was also leverage.

"Fine," she said. "But I have one more addition."

"Go on."

"The Phillips Auction House. I know you have a private vault of unlisted items. I want first right of refusal on any items originating from the Burke estate."

Gerhardt's eyes narrowed slightly. "Burke? Your mother's family?"

"Yes."

"Sentimental?"

"Something like that."

"Fine." He signed the last page and slid it to her.

They landed in Vegas at sunset. They went straight to a chapel off the strip. It wasn't the Elvis one, thank god, but it was sterile and smelled of lilies and desperation.

The officiant droned on. They said "I do" like they were agreeing to a business merger.

As soon as they signed the license, Gerhardt's phone buzzed.

"It's Helena," he said. He hit the video call button.

His face transformed instantly. The cold mask melted into a look of adoration that was terrifyingly convincing. He pulled her into his side.

"Grandmother," he beamed. "We did it. Isa couldn't wait."

Isa forced a smile, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Hi, Helena. I'm just so happy."

"Let me see the ring," Helena demanded from the screen.

Isa froze. They didn't have rings.

Gerhardt didn't miss a beat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He flipped it open.

Inside sat a pink diamond the size of a quail egg.

He slid it onto her finger. It fit perfectly.

"Beautiful," Helena crooned. "Welcome to the family, dear. Try to survive."

The call ended. Gerhardt dropped his arm immediately.

"Nice acting," he muttered.

Isa looked down at the ring. It was heavy. It felt like a shackle.

"Whose was this?" she asked.

"My mother's," he said, walking toward the exit. "She died wearing it. Don't lose it."

The Phillips Estate in Long Island wasn't a house; it was a fortress disguised as a French chateau.

The helicopter touched down on the south lawn. The rotors kicked up a storm of grass clippings. Gerhardt helped her out, his grip firm on her elbow.

"Listen to me," he said, his voice low enough that the awaiting staff couldn't hear. "Inside that house are sharks. My father, Christopher. My stepmother, Alida. My half-brother, Ashton. They will try to eat you alive."

Isa smoothed her skirt. "I've been swimming with sharks since I was born, Gerhardt. I'm not afraid of teeth."

"Good. Because they smell blood."

They entered the dining hall. It was a cavernous room with a table long enough to land a plane on.

Christopher Phillips sat at the head. He didn't stand. He looked like an older, crueler version of Gerhardt.

"So," Christopher said, cutting into his steak. "This is the internet sensation."

"Isa," Gerhardt corrected, pulling out a chair for her.

Alida, a woman whose face was pulled so tight she looked permanently surprised, smiled thinly. "We were just watching your video, dear. Very... dramatic. Was the crying real, or was that for the followers?"

Isa unfolded her napkin. "It was market research, Alida. Engagement is up forty percent. Unlike the Phillips stock this quarter."

Ashton, the younger brother, choked on his wine. He looked at Isa with new interest. "She bites."

"Only when provoked," Isa said sweetly.

The first course was served. Silence hung heavy over the table, broken only by the clinking of silver.

"I hear your father cut you off," Christopher said. "A pity. The Faulkner trust was a substantial asset."

"Assets can be rebuilt," Isa said. "Reputations are harder to fix. Isn't that right, Christopher? I heard the SEC is looking into your offshore accounts again."

Christopher's knife screeched against the china. "Watch your tongue, girl."

"She's right," Gerhardt said calmly. He reached over and took Isa's plate. He began cutting her steak into perfect, bite-sized pieces.

The table went dead silent. Even the servants stopped moving.

"Gerhardt," Alida whispered. "What are you doing?"

"My wife had a long day," Gerhardt said, not looking up from his task. "She needs her energy."

He slid the plate back to her.

Isa looked at him. His face was impassive, but his ears were slightly red. He was using her to piss them off. And it was working beautifully.

After dinner, Helena summoned them to the library.

"As the newest Phillips, you must be made aware of our holdings," she announced. Jenson, the butler, placed a sleek, encrypted tablet on the table. "This is a direct link to the family vault inventory. For insurance and estate purposes. Your access is read-only, of course."

Isa took the tablet, her fingers cool and steady. Later that night, in the sterile silence of their guest suite, she went to work. His family had underestimated her. 'Read-only' was a suggestion, not a barrier. It took her less than ten minutes to bypass their firewalls and access the archived, off-ledger acquisitions. The ones they didn't want anyone to see.

She scrolled past smuggled artifacts and blood diamonds. Her heart was a cold, steady drum.

And then she saw it. Item 734.

An emerald necklace with a unique filigree setting.

Her mother's necklace. The one she was wearing the night she died. The one the police said was lost in the fire.

The acquisition date was one day after the fire. The seller was listed as 'Anonymous.'

Her blood ran cold. Her hand trembled, hovering over the screen. They didn't just have it; they had logged it. The sheer arrogance was breathtaking.

She slammed the laptop shut. She couldn't let them know she'd seen it. Not yet.

She found Gerhardt on the balcony, staring out into the darkness.

"I've been thinking about your grandmother's offer," she said, her voice carefully modulated to sound greedy and ambitious. She had to create a reason for her future actions.

He turned, one eyebrow raised.

"The family vault," she said. "Access to it. Full access. As the future mother of the Phillips heir, I believe it's my right."

Gerhardt looked at her with a flicker of disgust. "You want it all?"

"Every last carat," she said, meeting his gaze without flinching.

He didn't know she was lying. He didn't know she would trade every diamond in that vault for that one piece of green glass and the truth it held.

"You played that well," Gerhardt said, closing the door to the guest suite. "Or maybe you weren't playing."

He loosened his tie, tossing it onto the armchair.

"I did what I had to do," Isa said, turning away to hide the shaking in her hands. "Helena likes ambition."

"Helena likes predators. Don't confuse the two."

"I'm going to take a shower," she said, grabbing her nightgown. She needed to get away from him. She needed to think.

She turned the water on high in the bathroom, then slipped out the side door into the hallway.

The house was quiet. She moved like a ghost, her bare feet silent on the parquet floor. She needed to get a sense of the house's layout, to find where the physical vault might be. She had the digital key; now she needed the lock.

She turned the corner toward the east wing, where she knew Christopher kept his private study. The heavy oak door was closed, but not quite latched. A sliver of light and sound escaped.

She pressed her ear to the cold wood.

"...she has Alvina's eyes, Christopher. It's unsettling."

Isa froze. Alida's voice.

"It doesn't matter," Christopher's voice rumbled. "She's a pawn. Once Gerhardt produces an heir, we can dispose of her. Just like we did the mother."

The air left her lungs.

Dispose of her. Just like we did the mother.

Her mother didn't die in an accident. They knew. They were involved.

She pressed her hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp. She wanted to burst in there and scream. But she had no proof. Just a conversation she was never supposed to hear.

She backed away slowly.

She returned to the room, her mind racing. She was sleeping in the den of the lions who killed her family.

The bathroom water was still running. She turned it off and walked into the bedroom.

Gerhardt was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was shirtless.

She stopped.

His back was to her.

It was a map of violence. Thick, raised keloid scars crisscrossed his skin. Burn marks. Lash marks. Some looked old, fading into white. Some looked newer.

"Oh my god," she whispered.

Gerhardt flinched. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it on in one fluid, angry motion. He turned to face her, his eyes blazing.

"Did I say you could look?" he snarled.

"Gerhardt... who did that to you?"

"No one," he said, standing up and advancing on her. "It's none of your business."

He was breathing hard. His pupils were blown wide. He was having a panic attack.

She didn't back down. She stepped forward.

"You're shaking," she said softly.

"Don't touch me," he warned, but there was no conviction in it. He looked like he was about to shatter.

She reached out and placed her hands on his chest.

The heat was there again. The furnace.

He groaned, a low sound of pain and relief. His resistance crumbled. He slumped forward, resting his forehead on her shoulder. His heavy arms came up to wrap around her, crushing her against him.

"Just... a minute," he muttered into her hair. "Just give me a minute."

She stood there, holding the son of the man who might have murdered her mother. She should hate him.

But as she felt his heart hammering against hers, syncing with her own rhythm, she realized something terrifying.

He was just as broken as she was. And for tonight, they were the only glue holding each other together.