Chapter 1 - The Bloodline Broken
The rain turned heavy as Coraline Ashford’s words hung in the bitter air.
"A bastard child?" Garrett’s voice was barely a whisper, yet it cut through the hum of Fifth Avenue traffic like a drawn blade. He finally turned his head to look at Coraline, his winter-gray eyes so utterly cold that she involuntarily took a step back, her expensive lace veil trailing in the wet street.
"Watch your mouth, Coraline," Garrett said softly. "Because if you speak about my daughter like that again, there won't be enough of your father's empire left to bury."
"Garrett!" Wesley Dunn sprinted from the front car, his hand hovering over his holster as men from both the Hail and Ashford families began spilling onto the street. "Look around you. There are phones out. The Ashfords have ten armed men within twenty feet. If you walk away now, it's open war."
Garrett didn't care about the Ashfords. He didn't care about the five hundred guests in St. Bartholomew’s, or the millions of dollars in peace treaties hanging by a thread.
He looked at Maeve.
She was trembling, her wet shoes slipping on the pavement as she tried to back away further, clutching the toddler against her chest. The little girl—his daughter—was watching him with wide, curious eyes, her tiny fist tightly holding her mother's collar.
"Garrett, please," Maeve whispered, tears mixing with the rain on her cheeks. "Go back to your wedding. Don't do this here."
"I am never going back to that church," Garrett declared.
He took three slow, deliberate steps toward Maeve, stripping off his heavy charcoal wool overcoat and draping it gently over Maeve and the child, shielding them from the storm.
"Garrett!" Coraline screamed, her face contorted with rage. "If you turn your back on me, my father will tear New York apart!"
Garrett didn't look back. He placed his broad hand at the small of Maeve’s back, guiding her toward his armored SUV. "Wesley, open the door."
Wesley hesitated for half a second, seeing the storm brewing on both sides of the street, but his loyalty to Garrett was absolute. He pulled open the rear door of the SUV.
May you like
Garrett helped Maeve and the little girl inside, stepped in after them, and slammed the heavy door shut against the screaming world outside.
"Drive," Garrett commanded. "To the estate."
