Five years together. I was ruthless in business, but with him? Always soft. Always accommodating.
Rage overtook him. He stormed toward me and kicked the back of my knee.
"Maureen! You forced my hand!"
"You will kneel and apologize to your future sister-in-law! And you'll learn the Gilbert family rules while you're at it!"
"Otherwise, if you ever set foot in the Gilbert household acting like this, don't expect my parents to accept you as their goddaughter!"
My knee buckled. I collapsed to the floor in front of Valerie, unable to stop myself.
Arnold tried to pull me up, but Elwin's employees swarmed him instantly.
Within two seconds, he was on his knees beside me, forced down by the crowd.
"You really thought our Mr. Gilbert wouldn't bite back? That he's some harmless kitten?"
"Trying to ruin Starlight Corporation's big day and make trouble for our boss? You two can kneel there and confess!"
I checked the time. Only ten minutes remained of the half hour Arnold had mentioned.
Yet here he was, kneeling alongside me.
Fortunately, while he'd been on the phone, I'd already messaged my parents and brother.
Still, dragging Arnold into this weighed on my conscience.
I shifted on my knees, leaning close to whisper in his ear.
"Don't worry. I'm the real daughter of Capital City's wealthiest family..."
But the moment the words left my lips, Elwin yanked me roughly aside.
"Maureen!"
"Have you no shame? I won't marry you, so you throw yourself at Arnold Delgado?"
"And now you're playing dress-up, claiming to be some billionaire's daughter? Let's see if Arnold believes that!"
To everyone's shock, Arnold nodded with absolute seriousness and began fighting off the men restraining him.
"Whatever Maureen says, I believe!"
The sight of Arnold protecting me despite his own injuries struck Elwin like a blade.
His eyes blazed crimson. His hand flew up to slap me.
"So you were cheating on me all along!"
Just as his palm was about to connect with my face, Phineas burst through, shouting in panic.
"Mr. Gilbert! We have a problem! The stock price that was surging—it's plummeting!"
Elwin glanced at the numbers. The color drained from his face. When he looked back at Arnold and me, his gaze was murderous.
"Maureen! I'm giving you one last chance to stop this. Become my honorary sister, or if Starlight Corporation goes down, we're taking this to the grave!"
"Then I'll be watching."