So that was it. Six months of devotion, of being the perfect wife—all of it was an act. She'd been biding her time, waiting for me to let my guard down before she struck.

But I never thought she'd drag my mother into this. Never thought she'd make her suffer too.

Mark limped toward me, hatred burning in his eyes. Each uneven step reminded me of what I'd done to him. He stopped in front of my chair and drove his fist into my face.

"Kerry Gilbert." He spat my name like a curse. "You broke my leg. Made me a cripple. So now I'm going to take my time—torturing you and your mother, piece by piece. Just you wait."

I glared at them both, fury boiling in my veins. "May. You kidnapped us. Brought us here against our will. That's a crime. You know what I'm capable of. The moment I get out of here, I'm divorcing you and leaving you with nothing—"

"Ha!" May threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, Kerry. Kerry, Kerry, Kerry. I stopped being afraid of you a long time ago. These past six months? I've been busy. Your company? Mine now. Your shareholders?" She gestured lazily. "Bought and paid for. Every last one of them."

My eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

May clapped her hands, still grinning. The door opened, and a line of familiar faces filed in.

My shareholders. All of them.

"What is this?" I demanded. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" one of them sneered. "We're backing her now. You're done."

"May." My voice shook with barely contained rage. "How dare you. When your family was ruined, who saved you? I did. The Gilberts pulled you out of nothing. And now you betray me—for him? For this worthless kept man?"

If I weren't tied to this chair, I would have launched myself at them. I would have beaten them both to death with my bare hands.

The fury churned inside me, rising and rising, impossible to suppress.

And the more I raged, the more May and Mark reveled in it. Their eyes glittered with sick satisfaction.

"Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention." May leaned forward, her smile sharpening. "We're in international waters. There's no law here. No police. No rescue." She tilted her head. "So if you want to save your nosy, meddlesome mother... you'll have to gamble for her. Against us. To the bitter end."

2

I stared at the woman I had once cherished with everything I had, and a wave of bitter self-mockery washed through me.