A faint, deliberate cough drifted through the open doorway. Blake was making sure they knew she was there. The sound slithered into Audrey's ears like a venomous snake, wrapping tightly around her frayed nerves.

Audrey's entire body went rigid. She pressed her hands flat against Dozier's solid chest, her fingers trembling against his dress shirt. "Stop," she whispered, her voice cracking. "Please."

She was begging for the last shred of her dignity.

Dozier's muscles locked. He paused, his head turning slightly toward the dark hallway. A complicated, unreadable emotion flashed across his dark eyes.

Audrey let out a shaky breath. Her tense shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch. She thought he would stop. She thought his obsession with his childhood sweetheart would save her.

She was wrong.

Dozier's gaze snapped back to her. He lunged forward. His large hands clamped around both of her wrists like iron shackles. He slammed her arms down onto the mattress beside her head. The brutal display of absolute physical power crushed her fleeting hope into dust.

He lowered his head and crushed his lips against hers. He swallowed her muffled cry of protest. There was no passion in the kiss, only a cruel, punishing need to dominate and possess.

Audrey thrashed wildly in the dark. Her legs kicked against the tangled sheets. Hot, angry tears spilled over her eyelashes, tracking down her temples and soaking into her hair. The humiliation burned her skin like acid.

Outside in the hallway, the sharp sound of a fingernail dragging slowly down the wooden door frame echoed into the room. The physical proximity of her abuser amplified the psychological torture of the moment.

Dozier reached down and grabbed the collar of her silk nightgown. He pulled hard. The sharp sound of tearing fabric ripped through the quiet room.

Audrey squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her teeth down hard on her lower lip. She tasted copper. She refused to make a single sound. She would not give the monster outside the door the satisfaction of hearing her break.

Dozier pushed her legs apart and entered her. There was zero tenderness. It was a cold, mechanical execution of his marital rights. A sharp pain shot up Audrey's spine, making her curl her toes in agony.

Out in the hallway, Blake apparently couldn't take it anymore. A loud, heavy thud echoed as a decorative ceramic vase was knocked off a pedestal table, crashing onto the carpet.

The sudden noise made Audrey flinch violently. Her breath hitched in a loud gasp.

Dozier didn't even pause. The noise seemed to fuel his anger. His grip on her hips tightened, his fingers digging painfully into her flesh.

Audrey went completely still, refusing to give him any reaction. Her passive resistance seemed to infuriate him more than her struggles. He leaned down, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. "You're stiff as a board," he mocked, his voice a low, cruel rasp.

His words stripped away her final mental shield. He was destroying her from the inside out.

The agonizing minutes dragged on until Dozier finally pulled away. He rolled off the bed, his breathing heavy. Without a single backward glance, he walked straight into the master bathroom. The heavy glass door slid shut.

Audrey lay motionless on the ruined sheets. She felt like a discarded ragdoll. The sound of the shower turning on hissed through the room. She stared blankly at the dark ceiling, her eyes completely hollow.

The hallway was dead silent. Blake had retreated. The psychological warfare had drained every ounce of energy from Audrey's body.

She forced her aching limbs to move. She dragged herself to the edge of the bed and opened the bottom drawer of the nightstand. She reached past the clutter and pulled out the plain white 'Vitamin C' bottle. She popped the cap, tossed a tiny birth control pill into her mouth, and swallowed it dry.

The bathroom door clicked open. Dozier walked out, a white towel wrapped low around his waist.

His dark eyes immediately locked onto Audrey holding the plastic bottle.

Audrey's heart leaped into her throat, choking her. Her fingers trembled violently. She forced herself to casually place the bottle back into the drawer and slide it shut.

Dozier's eyes narrowed, but he didn't ask. He walked to the closet. "Pack a bag. We are leaving for the Hamptons estate first thing in the morning. Family gathering."

Audrey gripped the edge of the mattress. "I'm not feeling well. I can't go."

She desperately needed physical distance from him and his family.

Dozier turned around. His face was carved from stone. "You are Mrs. Hodge. You will fulfill your obligations to this family."

He used the weight of his family name to chain her to the floor.

The next morning, Audrey sat at her vanity. She applied a thick layer of foundation to hide the dark circles under her eyes and the pale, sickly color of her skin. She put on her armor. She walked downstairs, her face a blank, emotionless mask.

In the living room, Blake was already waiting. She wore a pristine, tailored Chanel tweed suit. She stood next to Dozier, looking every bit the perfect society wife preparing for a weekend getaway.

Audrey stopped at the bottom of the stairs. She stared coldly at Dozier. "Why is an outsider coming to a private family gathering?"

She drew her final line in the sand.

Dozier adjusted his expensive watch. "Grandma Augusta missed Blake. She specifically asked for her."

He used the matriarch's blatant favoritism as an impenetrable shield.

Blake stepped closer to Dozier and wrapped her hands around his bicep. She leaned her head against his shoulder and shot Audrey a brilliant, victorious smile. She was flaunting her untouchable status.

Audrey didn't waste her breath arguing. She turned her back on them and walked straight toward the private elevator. She kept her spine perfectly straight, using her posture to hold her shattered pride together.

The three of them sat in the back of the stretched Maybach. The air inside the luxurious cabin was thick and suffocating. The car merged onto the highway, speeding toward the Hamptons, dragging Audrey deeper into the abyss.

The black Maybach glided up the long, crushed-gravel driveway of the Hodge family's oceanfront estate in the Hamptons. The car rolled to a smooth stop in front of the massive stone portico.

Arthur, the estate's head butler, pulled open the heavy car door. Audrey took a deep breath, forcing her facial muscles into the polite, vacant smile required of a billionaire's wife.

Dozier stepped out first. Instead of waiting for his wife, he immediately turned and offered his hand to Blake, shielding her head as she stepped out of the car. The blatant disregard hit Audrey like a physical blow to the chest.

Standing at the top of the grand marble stairs was Augusta Hodge. The family matriarch had silver hair pulled into a tight chignon and eyes like chips of flint. Her gaze completely bypassed Audrey, locking onto the woman standing next to her grandson.

"Blake, my darling girl!" Augusta called out, her harsh voice softening with genuine affection. She walked down two steps and pulled Blake into a warm embrace, treating the actual daughter-in-law like a ghost.

Audrey gripped the fabric of her skirt. She walked up the stone steps alone. The sharp clack of her heels against the stone was the only sound covering the deafening roar of her isolation.

They moved into the cavernous, gilded foyer. Audrey stopped in front of the matriarch. "Good afternoon, Grandmother."

Augusta pulled away from Blake and looked Audrey up and down. She let out a loud, disdainful huff.

"That neckline is entirely inappropriate for a daytime family gathering," Augusta snapped. Her words were designed to strip away Audrey's dignity in front of the staff.

Audrey looked at Dozier. He stood with his hands in his pockets, his face blank. He offered no defense. His silence validated the bullying, making the floor tilt beneath Audrey's feet.

"Now, Mother, don't be so harsh," a smooth voice interrupted.

Cordelia, Dozier's mother, glided into the foyer. She wore a perfectly tailored cream dress. She reached out and patted Audrey's cold hand, playing the role of the benevolent peacemaker.

"Come with me, Audrey. Let's discuss the dinner menu," Cordelia said, pulling Audrey away from Augusta's firing line.

They walked down a long hallway lined with oil paintings and stepped into a quiet parlor. The moment the doors closed, the warm smile vanished from Cordelia's face, replaced by a calculating stare.

"How is your ovulation tracking going?" Cordelia asked, her voice dropping to a businesslike clip.

Audrey's stomach plummeted. "I... my body is still recovering."

Cordelia's eyes narrowed. "The trust fund stipulations are clear. Dozier needs an heir before his thirty-fifth birthday to secure the voting shares. Your miscarriage was a year ago. Time is up."

The pressure of the billionaire empire pressed down on Audrey's lungs, making it hard to breathe. She was nothing but a breeding vessel to them.

"I need more time," Audrey lied, her voice trembling.

"I have already booked an appointment with Dr. Kenji Lin for you," Cordelia stated, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.

The name of the elite fertility specialist acted like a physical blow to Audrey's head. Panic spiked in her veins. A doctor would run blood tests. They would find the birth control.

Cordelia turned and walked out of the parlor, her heels clicking sharply against the floor.

Audrey stumbled out of the room a minute later, her mind racing with terrifying scenarios. She wandered aimlessly down the corridor until she found herself standing at the top of the grand, sweeping marble staircase.

She looked down at the steep, jagged edges of the stone steps.

Suddenly, her vision tunneled. A loud ringing filled her ears. The memory of a year ago slammed into her brain. The sudden, violent shove against her shoulder blades. The terrifying sensation of falling. The sickening crack of her bones hitting the marble. The warm pool of blood spreading between her legs.

Audrey gasped for air. Her chest heaved. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead and slid down her spine. She grabbed the polished mahogany handrail, her knuckles turning bone-white as she fought the urge to scream.

"It's a long way down, isn't it?"

The soft, musical voice floated up from the steps below.

Audrey's head snapped up. Blake was standing halfway down the staircase. She was standing on the exact step where Audrey had landed a year ago.

"It's so easy to lose your footing on these marble stairs, isn't it?" Blake whispered, her eyes gleaming with a malicious delight. "One has to be so... careful. After all, accidents happen, and Dozier would never believe otherwise."

A surge of pure, blinding rage burned through Audrey's veins. Her vision tinted red. "You pushed me," she hissed, her voice vibrating with hatred.

Blake let out a soft giggle. "I did. And what are you going to do about it? You have no proof. Dozier will never believe you."

The absolute arrogance of the sociopath snapped the last thread of Audrey's control. She let go of the handrail and lunged forward, her hands curling into fists, ready to tear Blake's hair out.

But as her foot hit the first step down, a flash of dark fabric caught her eye.

Down in the lower hallway, partially hidden by the corner wall, was the distinct edge of Dozier's suit jacket.

Audrey's brain slammed on the brakes. Her muscles locked up. Blake was baiting her. Blake wanted Dozier to see Audrey attack her like a deranged lunatic.

Audrey sucked in a sharp breath and took two rapid steps backward, putting a safe distance between herself and the stairs. She crossed her arms and stared down at Blake with eyes like dead winter ice.

Seeing that her trap had failed, Blake's eyes widened. She dramatically threw her arms out and let out a piercing shriek, swaying backward as if she were losing her balance.

Dozier sprinted around the corner. He leaped up the bottom stairs and caught Blake by the waist just before she fell backward. He pulled her against his chest and shot a furious, accusatory glare up at Audrey.

Audrey didn't offer a single word of defense. She looked at the two of them clutching each other like a tragic romance novel cover. A wave of absolute disgust washed over her. She turned her back on them, kept her spine straight, and walked away.