Chapter 2 - The Midnight Burglary & A Dead Patriarch’s Secret Will
I stared at Graham, my hand clutching the strap of my purse so hard my knuckles
turned white. “What did you just say?”
Graham exhaled, running a hand over his face. For the first time in the three
years I had worked for him, he looked vulnerable. He turned toward the panoramic
windows, where the desert sun was climbing over the gleaming casinos.
“Sit down, Avery. Please.”
I didn't want to sit, but my trembling knees gave out, forcing me onto the edge
of the velvet armchair.
“My grandfather’s trust had a trigger clause,” Graham explained, his voice low
and steady. “When he died four years ago, he left fifty-one percent of the
controlling shares to me—on one non-negotiable condition. I had to be legally
married before my thirty-third birthday.”
“Your birthday is tomorrow,” I whispered, realizing the timeline.
“My birthday is tomorrow,” he confirmed. “If I remain unwed by midnight tonight,
the voting shares default automatically to my uncle, Marcus Reed, and his
investment consortium. They don’t want to build infrastructure, Avery. They want
to liquidate the company, fire forty thousand employees, and sell the technology
patents to overseas shell corporations.”
“Marcus,” I breathed. Marcus Reed was a ruthless corporate vulture who had tried
to corner me at three different holiday galas. “He was behind the break-in?”
“Marcus knew I had no intention of marrying his chosen pawn, Victoria Vance,”
Graham continued, his eyes darkening. “Two days ago, my private security
discovered Marcus had forged an ironclad proxy agreement using my signature. The
only document that could prove the forgery was stored on the encrypted hard
drive in your travel brief—the one you compiled for the Nevada deal.”
My breath caught in my throat. “That’s why my room was ransacked. They stole the
drive.”
“They took the drive, and they planted narcotics in your room to ensure you’d be
arrested and detained in Clark County custody until my birthday passed,” Graham
said grimly. “Marcus wanted me isolated, panicked, and forced to yield my
shares. When I walked you to your room and saw the lock picked, I knew our only
option was to beat them at their own game before Marcus could file the proxy.”
“So you… you took me to a chapel?”
“A marriage certificate stamped and filed in Clark County before midnight
triggered grandfather's permanent trust protection,” Graham said, walking over
and standing before me. “Under Nevada law and the trust’s specific bylaws, the
moment I married, the shares fully vested into my name, joint with my spouse.
Marcus cannot touch the company. But more importantly, under corporate spousal
protection laws, you cannot be compelled to testify, and your legal defense is
backed by the entire Reed Global legal arsenal.”
“You used me as a shield,” I said, a mix of anger and shock washing over me.
“I made you my partner to protect both of us,” Graham countered, his gray eyes
piercing straight into mine. “I swear to you, Avery, nothing happened in this
bed last night that you didn’t consent to—which was strictly sleep. You were
exhausted, I was running on adrenaline, and we collapsed. But to the world, to
the board, and to Marcus… we are deeply, passionately in love.”
“This is insane. We can’t pull this off. Everyone knows you treat romance like a
spreadsheet error!”
Graham took a slow step closer, towering over me. He reached down, his fingers
warm as they brushed my chin, gently tilting my head upward. His touch sent an
unexpected jolt through my spine.
“Then we rewrite the spreadsheet, Avery,” he whispered. “Stay by my side for six
months. Help me bury Marcus and secure the company. When it’s done, I will sign
an uncontested annulment, transfer ten million dollars into your private
account, and buy you any firm you ever want to run. But if you walk out now…
Marcus wins, and neither of us will be safe.”
I looked at the heavy platinum ring on my finger, then back up into the fierce,
May you like
desperate eyes of the most powerful man in Chicago.
“Pack your bags, Mr. Reed,” I said quietly. “We have a flight to catch.”
