The Silent Bride's Billion Dollar Contract

Dawn woke up to sunlight slicing through the gap in the curtains.

For a moment, she didn't know where she was. Then she remembered the storm, the panic, the steady pressure of Gerhard's hand in hers. She was alone in the massive bed.

She sat up, her head aching slightly. The memory of his presence was a ghost of warmth in the cool, empty room.

When she came out to the dining area twenty minutes later, dressed in a silk robe, Gerhard was already dressed in a suit. He was reading a tablet.

Marta placed a plate of fruit and toast in front of Dawn.

Gerhard slid the tablet across the table.

"Read," he said.

Dawn looked at the screen. It was a news article.

QUEENS LANDLORD ARRESTED IN ASSAULT, PROBE INTO FINANCIAL FRAUD LAUNCHED.

There was a picture of Lydia being led out of the apartment building in handcuffs. She looked small and angry.

"I bought the building. An eviction notice was served this morning," Gerhard said, sipping his coffee. "The police acted on the assault charge. While processing her, they found evidence she was using your social security number for credit card applications. She'll be in holding for a while."

Dawn stared at the picture. The monster under her bed was gone. Locked away.

"Thank you," she said. Her voice was thick.

"Contractual obligation," Gerhard said, not looking up. "I protect my assets. My office has also arranged an indefinite leave of absence for you from the museum, citing a family emergency. The paperwork is being processed to transfer you to the Holcomb Collection's private restoration lab. You can work from here when you're ready."

Dawn flinched slightly at the word asset. But she couldn't deny the relief washing over her.

Gerhard's phone lit up on the table. It buzzed aggressively.

Dawn glanced at the screen. Campbell Chambers.

The name jolted her. She'd seen it a dozen times in the gossip columns Harper sometimes left in the breakroom. Campbell Chambers: socialite, media heiress, and Gerhard Holcomb's very public, very blonde, on-again-off-again girlfriend. A cold understanding settled in her stomach. She wasn't a wife. She was a shield. A placeholder to fend off women like this.

Gerhard looked at the phone. His expression tightened.

He reached out and pressed the decline button.

"You aren't going to answer?" Dawn asked, her voice carefully neutral.

"Irrelevant," Gerhard said. He stood up. "I have to go to the office. The board meeting is tomorrow. We will announce the marriage then."

He walked over to her chair. He placed a hand on her shoulder. His thumb brushed the bare skin of her neck.

"Stay inside today," he said. "Rest. Let the stitches heal."

"Okay," Dawn said.

"And Dawn?"

"Yes?"

"Don't answer the landline either."

He turned and walked to the elevator.

Dawn watched him go. She touched the spot on her neck where his hand had been.

She stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. She looked down at the city. The cars looked like toys. The people were invisible specks.

She was high above it all. She was safe. Lydia couldn't touch her here.

But as she looked at the reflection of the golden cage around her, and thought about the name Campbell Chambers flashing on his phone, she realized that safety had a price.

The elevator chimed. Gerhard was gone.

Dawn was alone in the penthouse, waiting for the next storm to hit.