Two Hopeless, Four Ruthless

Ronan pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His gaze moved back and forth between me and the photograph on the screen. All he had to do was say he did not know me, and this entire farce would end.

He said nothing. His gaze dropped, deliberately avoiding mine. When he lifted his head again, his face had rearranged itself into an expression of deep regret. "Ms. Tanner."

He let out a sigh. His voice was smooth and measured, but something cruel ran beneath it. "I've told you before. There's nothing between us. There never can be. Why do you keep coming after me? You followed me all the way to my wife's banquet just to make a scene?"

The blood drained from my face. My entire body went cold. My voice shook. "What did you just say? Have you lost your mind? I've never even met you!"

Ronan did not look at me again. He turned away and took Portia's hand in his.

"Portia, I'm sorry. She's been pursuing me for a while now, and I was too soft-hearted to shut her down completely. I should've ended it sooner. I swear, you're the only one I care about. I'll take care of this. Please don't be upset."

Portia's face twisted into something ugly. "You whore!"

She spun around and drove her foot straight into my stomach. I had no time to brace myself. The kick sent me flying, and I hit the ground hard. The pain tore through my entire body and left me curled up on the floor.

"What do you have to say for yourself now?" Portia screamed, every shred of composure gone. "My own husband just confirmed it! And you still have the nerve to deny it?"

I clutched my stomach, cold sweat pouring down my face. I looked at Ronan and the way his eyes refused to meet mine. I finally understood. He knew I was not the woman in that photograph. Of course, he did.

He was protecting the woman he actually loved, and he had thrown me out as a scapegoat without a second thought.

"Ronan Whitford... you'll rot for this." I kept my eyes fixed on him, unblinking.

A flicker of guilt passed through his gaze, but he smoothed it over with indifference just as quickly.

"Get her up." Portia's voice was ice. "Make her kneel."

Several bodyguards rushed forward, forced me to the ground, and pinned me on my knees facing the screen.

Portia pointed at Iver, who lay motionless on the floor. "Drag him to that display platform."

The platform had been set up to showcase levitating jewelry, and it generated an extremely powerful electromagnetic field.

"No!" My eyes went wide, and I thrashed against the bodyguards holding me down. "He has an implanted defibrillator in his chest! A strong magnetic field will send his heart into cardiac arrest! Please! Leave him alone!"

Portia ignored every word. The bodyguards dragged Iver to the edge of the platform. The moment he got close, the monitoring patch on his chest emitted a shrill, continuous alarm. His body seized violently, and his eyes rolled back.

"Iver!" The scream tore out of me so hard that my voice broke on impact.

Portia walked over and raised her hand. The slap cracked across my face. My cheek swelled instantly, and I tasted blood at the corner of my mouth.

Portia rubbed her wrist and looked down at me with venom in her eyes. "That one was to teach you your place."

She raised her hand again. The second slap landed just as hard. "And that one was for being a shameless tramp."

The alarm from Iver's monitoring patch grew sharper and more urgent. I watched the life drain from his face, and something inside me collapsed. I bit down on my lip until it bled and kept my eyes locked on hers.

"You'd better pray you finish me off tonight. Because if you don't, you will wish you had never been born."

Portia laughed. "Is that supposed to scare me? I don't know about regret, but I'll make sure you regret ever playing the other woman. Let's see how many men you can seduce without this pretty face."

She took a knife from one of the bodyguards. The blade caught the light, cold and sharp, and she brought it toward my cheek.

The edge was a breath away from breaking skin when I closed my eyes.

The crash that followed shook the entire hall. The security shutter had been ripped clean open.

"Touch my sister and it'll be the last thing you ever do."