Jalynn pushed the heavy glass doors of City Hall open. The early autumn sun of Manhattan hit her face. The bright light stabbed at her eyes, forcing her to squint.

A sleek, black Porsche 911 was idling at the curb. The engine gave a low, aggressive growl. Audrey Bishop, her best friend, sat in the driver's seat. Audrey slammed her palm against the horn, the loud blast cutting through the street noise.

Jalynn walked fast. She yanked the passenger door open and dropped into the low leather seat. She tossed the vintage clutch into the back. It hit the floorboards with a dull thud.

The second the car door clicked shut, Jalynn reached for her throat. Her fingers dug into the clasp of the tight pearl necklace. She ripped it off. The pearls clattered loudly against the center console. She took a massive breath, her lungs finally expanding all the way.

She reached to the back of her head and pulled the pins out of her hair. The tight bun unraveled. Her thick, dark waves tumbled down over her shoulders. She ran her fingers through the roots, scratching her scalp to get rid of the lingering pain.

Audrey watched her with wide eyes. She reached into the small cooler behind the seat, pulled out a chilled bottle of champagne, and shoved it toward Jalynn.

Jalynn grabbed the bottle. She didn't bother with a glass. She put the cold glass rim to her lips and tipped her head back. The icy liquid burned a path down her throat. The sharp carbonation hit her stomach, finally settling the nausea that had been rolling inside her for hours.

Audrey slammed her foot on the gas pedal. The Porsche shot forward, merging aggressively into the heavy traffic on Fifth Avenue.

"Well?" Audrey asked, keeping her eyes on the road. "How bad was it?"

Jalynn let out a harsh, bitter laugh. She dug into her purse and pulled out the tube of bright red lipstick. She flipped down the sun visor and stared at her reflection. She dragged the bold color across her lips, completely covering the pathetic pink gloss.

"The Wall Street tyrant looked at me like I was a piece of trash stuck to his shoe," Jalynn said. She snapped the lipstick tube shut. "But the money is in the account."

Audrey gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Deryl Atkins is a dangerous man, Jalynn. If he ever finds out you're faking this whole timid act, he will destroy you."

Jalynn rolled down the passenger window. The wind rushed into the cabin, whipping her dark hair around her face. She didn't care.

"I don't give a damn," Jalynn said over the noise of the wind. "As long as my father's life's work is safe, I will pay whatever price I have to."

The Porsche pulled up to the curb in front of an exclusive, unmarked private club on the Upper East Side. A valet in a crisp uniform immediately stepped forward and opened Jalynn's door.

Jalynn and Audrey walked through the heavy velvet curtains into the dimly lit VIP lounge. The air smelled of expensive cigars and leather.

They walked into a private back room. Jalynn kicked off her low, sensible heels. They hit the wall. She dropped onto the deep leather sofa, letting her body sink into the cushions.

A bartender walked in silently, placed two custom martinis on the low glass table, and walked out. The heavy soundproof door clicked shut behind him.

Jalynn grabbed the stem of her martini glass. She held it out. Audrey tapped her glass against it. The crystal rang with a sharp, clear note.

"To the brand new Mrs. Atkins," Audrey said, taking a sip. Her face turned serious. "So, how are you going to handle your Uncle Gideon?"

The moment Gideon's name hit the air, the temperature in Jalynn's eyes dropped. The relaxed posture vanished. Her spine went rigid.

She gripped the glass so hard the stem threatened to snap. Her knuckles turned white.

"That bastard," Jalynn hissed through her teeth. "He teamed up with outsiders to bleed his own brother dry while my father was having heart palpitations."

"Gideon still has the backing of half the board," Audrey warned. "He could launch a hostile takeover by the end of the week."

Jalynn set her glass down on the table. A dangerous, sharp smile spread across her red lips.

"My last name is Atkins now," Jalynn said. The words tasted heavy and powerful on her tongue.

"I'm not just going to use Deryl's money to plug the holes," Jalynn continued. "I'm going to use his title to crush those old foxes until they beg for mercy."

Audrey frowned. "Do you really think Deryl is going to let you use his name to throw your weight around town?"

Jalynn scoffed. "The prenup only says I have to play the good little wife at his family events. It doesn't say a damn thing about what I can do with my legal name outside his house."

Jalynn reached for her phone on the table. The screen lit up with a new message. It was from her father, Silas.

She opened the text. Her eyes scanned the words. Her stomach dropped, and then a hot, violent rage spiked in her chest.

Gideon is here at the house. He brought his lawyers. They are forcing me to sign the equity transfer.

Jalynn shot up from the sofa. Her blood was boiling. She grabbed her black leather jacket from the armrest and shoved her arms into the sleeves.

"The game starts right now," Jalynn said. Her voice was deadly quiet. "I'm going home to teach my dear uncle a lesson in respect."

Audrey grabbed her car keys from the table. "I'm driving. You need an audience for this."

Jalynn marched out of the private room. Her bare feet hit the thick red carpet with heavy, determined steps. The timid, broken girl from City Hall was dead.

The Porsche tires shrieked against the pavement as Audrey slammed on the brakes. The car jerked to a halt in the wide, circular driveway of the Horton family estate in Long Island.

Jalynn threw the passenger door open before the car even fully stopped. Her feet hit the gravel. In one fluid, practiced motion, she gathered her wild hair and twisted it back into a low, neat bun.

She ripped the black leather jacket off her shoulders and tossed it onto the passenger seat. She smoothed down the front of the conservative cream tweed suit. The fabric scratched her skin, but she ignored it.

Audrey watched her from the driver's seat. She shook her head. To go from a raging force of nature back to a delicate flower in less than three seconds was terrifying.

Jalynn walked fast across the manicured lawn. Her low heels dug into the grass. Before she even reached the heavy front doors, the sound of shouting hit her ears. The noise was coming from the study on the first floor.

She pushed the front doors open. They swung wide on silent hinges. She walked straight down the hallway toward the open door of the study.

Jalynn stopped in the doorway. Her eyes swept the room, taking in the physical positions of everyone inside.

Her father, Silas, was slumped back in his heavy leather desk chair. His face was the color of ash. His right hand was clutching his chest, right over his heart. His breathing was shallow and ragged.

Her uncle, Gideon, was leaning over the massive mahogany desk. Both of his hands were planted flat on the wood. He was shouting, pointing a thick finger at a stack of papers sitting right in front of Silas.

Bianca, Gideon's daughter, stood near the bookshelf. She was wearing a ridiculous haute couture dress, her arms crossed over her chest. A nasty, mocking smirk twisted her face.

And standing right next to Bianca was Chuck Larsen. Jalynn's ex-boyfriend. The man who had stolen Horton's trade secrets and handed them to Gideon.

The sight of Chuck's smug, arrogant face made Jalynn's blood physically heat up. A muscle in her jaw ticked. She forced her facial muscles to relax into a blank, unreadable mask.

Jalynn lifted her foot and brought her heel down hard against the hardwood floor. The sharp crack echoed through the room like a gunshot.

Everyone froze. Four heads snapped toward the doorway.

Bianca looked Jalynn up and down. She sneered at the plain tweed suit. "Look who decided to show up. Did you just come from volunteering at a soup kitchen, Jalynn?"

Jalynn didn't even blink at her. Her eyes were locked on Gideon. The air around her felt freezing cold. She walked straight past Bianca, her shoulder brushing past the girl without a second thought.

Gideon stood up straight and scowled. "Step outside, Jalynn. The adults are discussing the survival of this company. This is no place for you."

Jalynn ignored him completely. She walked right up to the desk. She reached out and grabbed the thick stack of papers-the Equity Transfer Agreement.

She lifted the document. Her eyes scanned the top page. The clauses were predatory. They were designed to strip her father of everything. A short, sharp laugh escaped her lips. The sound was dripping with pure disgust.

Jalynn gripped the top of the thick stack with both hands. Her knuckles turned white. She flexed her wrists and pulled her hands in opposite directions.

The thick paper fought back for a second, and then it gave way. A loud, violent tearing sound ripped through the quiet room. She tore the entire stack of documents straight down the middle.

Gideon's eyes bulged out of his head. The veins in his neck popped. "Are you insane?!" he roared. "That was the only money keeping this company out of bankruptcy court!"

Chuck stepped forward, his face red with fake outrage. "Don't be stupid, Jalynn. Horton's cash flow will be completely dead by tomorrow morning."

Jalynn raised her hands. She threw the torn halves of the contract directly at Gideon's chest. The heavy papers hit him and fluttered to the floor like dead leaves.

"Horton Enterprises is not running out of money," Jalynn said. Her voice was calm, steady, and loud. "Our cash flow is going to be stronger than it has ever been."

Bianca let out a loud, shrill laugh. "Are you hallucinating? Where are you going to find tens of millions of dollars in liquid cash today?"

Jalynn didn't look at her. She calmly unclasped her vintage purse. She reached inside and pulled out a single, neatly folded sheet of paper.

She unfolded it and slammed it face-up onto the mahogany desk. The heavy seal of the New York City Hall caught the light.

Gideon frowned. He leaned over and snatched the paper off the desk. His eyes scanned the text. When his gaze hit the line for the spouse's name, his breath hitched. A loud gasp ripped from his throat.

Chuck and Bianca crowded behind him to look. Chuck's face instantly drained of all color. He looked like he had just been punched in the stomach.

Jalynn tilted her chin up. A cold, razor-sharp smile touched her lips.

"I am legally Mrs. Deryl Atkins," Jalynn said. The words hit the room like a bomb.

She pointed a finger straight at the door. "Now take your people and get out of my house, Gideon. Unless you want the Atkins family legal team to explain the concept of trespassing to you."

Gideon started sweating. Thick drops formed on his forehead. He knew the terrifying power of the Atkins conglomerate. He dropped the paper back onto the desk. He ground his teeth together so hard the sound was audible.

Without a word, Gideon spun around and marched out of the room. Chuck and Bianca practically ran after him, their footsteps frantic and panicked.

The front door slammed shut in the distance.

The heavy silence in the study was deafening. The only sound was the ragged, uneven breathing coming from the leather chair.

Silas's hands shook violently as he reached across the desk. His fingers brushed against the copy of the marriage certificate. He picked it up. His eyes filled with tears, the moisture spilling over his wrinkled cheeks and dripping onto his collar.

He looked up at Jalynn. His chest heaved. "Why?" he choked out. "Why would you sacrifice your entire life for this company?"

Jalynn looked at her father's broken posture. A sharp, physical pain twisted in her chest. Her ribs felt tight. She knew she could never tell him the truth about the contract. The guilt would kill him faster than his heart condition.

She walked quickly around the desk and dropped to her knees beside his chair. She reached out and grabbed his cold, trembling hands. She squeezed them, trying to force her own body heat into his skin.

Jalynn took a deep breath. She forced the muscles in her face to soften. She pulled up a bright, sickeningly sweet smile. She even managed to push a faint blush into her cheeks.

"Dad, look at me," Jalynn said softly. "It's not a sacrifice. Deryl and I... we're in love."

Silas stared at her. His brow furrowed in deep confusion. He knew the reputation of the Wall Street tyrant. Deryl Atkins didn't love anyone.

Jalynn swallowed the bile rising in her throat. She started spinning the lie. "We met at the charity gala three months ago. The one you couldn't attend."

She kept her voice light and breathless. "He was so different from what the papers say. We talked for hours. He started sending flowers to my apartment. He was relentless, Dad."

She squeezed his hands tighter. "When he found out about the company's trouble, he was furious that I didn't tell him. He insisted on injecting the capital. He said he couldn't stand to see me stressed."

Silas searched her eyes. He was looking for a crack in the story. Jalynn kept her gaze steady, pouring every ounce of fake adoration she could muster into her expression.

Slowly, the tension in Silas's shoulders began to release. He let out a long, heavy sigh. He turned his hand over and patted the back of her knuckles.

"The families in that circle are ruthless, Jalynn," Silas whispered. "You have to protect yourself."

Jalynn nodded quickly. "I will. He treats me like a queen, Dad. You don't need to worry about me."

She needed to change the subject before he asked for more details. "How bad is the actual cash gap right now?"

Silas rubbed his eyes. "Gideon's threat is gone, but the real problem is the supply chain. Crowe Holdings is our core supplier. Walter Crowe called this morning. He's preparing to cut off all raw materials by tomorrow."

Jalynn's stomach tightened. Deryl's initial wire transfer was massive, but it was only meant to cover the bank loans. It wouldn't be enough to buy out a new supplier on short notice. She had to handle Walter Crowe herself.

"Don't worry about Walter," Jalynn said, her voice firm. "I'll use the Atkins connections to set up a meeting with him. I'll fix it."

She helped her father stand up. His weight leaned heavily against her shoulder. She walked him slowly up the stairs to the master bedroom on the second floor.

She waited until he swallowed his heart medication and fell into a deep sleep. Then, she backed out of the room and quietly pulled the door shut.

Jalynn walked down the hall to her own bedroom. She pushed the door open and collapsed onto the massive bed. She stared blankly at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

She lifted her left hand. The moonlight coming through the window hit the diamond ring. The stone looked like a chunk of ice. The metal band felt incredibly heavy, dragging her hand down into the mattress.

The more lies she told, the more her skin crawled. The physical need to break out of this suffocating persona was making her chest ache.

She sat up abruptly. If she spent one more minute playing the gentle, obedient virgin, her brain was going to snap.

Jalynn walked into her walk-in closet. She shoved the racks of pastel dresses and modest skirts out of the way. The hangers clattered loudly against the metal rod.

She reached into the very back corner, behind a row of old yearbooks, and pulled out her emergency escape kit from her college days-a tiny, black slip dress and a high-quality, ash-blonde wig. The fabric of the dress was thin and clung to every curve. She grabbed a pair of sky-high stilettos covered in rhinestones.

She stripped off the tweed suit and threw it on the floor. She pulled the black dress over her head. She sat at her vanity and aggressively applied thick, dark eyeliner, smoking it out until her eyes looked dangerous. She painted her lips blood red.

She picked up the ash-blonde wig with its loose, messy waves. She pulled it over her dark hair, adjusting the lace front until it looked seamless.

She looked in the mirror. The woman staring back was wild, reckless, and completely unrecognizable. Jalynn smiled. The tightness in her chest finally loosened.

She grabbed her keys, snuck down the back stairs, and slipped out the side door into the night. She needed the loud, chaotic energy of the underground to burn off the suffocating pressure of her new life.