Chapter 1

I spent ten years married to the heir of the Syndicate.

I followed him through life-and-death struggles, until my piano-playing hands were covered in gun calluses and stained with blood.

Yet, when he turned twenty-eight, he became obsessed with a "Little Daisy" from the slums.

He hid her well, until I caught him accompanying that girl to her prenatal checkup.

When I demanded answers in a frenzy, he casually handed me a divorce agreement.

"Elowen is a devout Catholic. She cannot have a child out of wedlock. I have to give her a proper status."

"Sign it, and forty percent of my shares are yours."

I refused to step aside, so he began to pressure me at every turn.

Finally, he kidnapped my wheelchair-bound brother and dragged him under a industrial hydraulic press.

"Madeline Thorne, sign the papers, or watch him be crushed into nothing. It is your choice."

I knelt on the ground, begging him to stop. But as the machine roared to life, my brother's life was snuffed out, his blood splattering across my skin.

I clutched my aching stomach, screamed, and blacked out.

When I opened my eyes again.

I was back at the moment I first caught him with that girl at the hospital.

This time, I didn't make a sound. I contacted an overseas care facility overnight, signed the papers, and ran.

But once I truly vanished, he was the one who went insane.

1

I crouched behind the wall, covering my mouth to stop the shaking.

The horrific image of my brother's death was still burned into my mind.

Alaric Blackwood was giving Elowen May a promise.

"Once the pregnancy is stable, we will get our marriage license."

Hearing those words again, I didn't lose my mind.

In my past life, I had rushed out to confront him. Fearful that Elowen would discover she was just a kept mistress, he had smashed my jaw with a pistol grip.

Thinking of that, I pulled myself deeper into the shadows.

Alaric wrapped his arm around Elowen and led her away.

Only after I was sure they wouldn't return did I walk into the doctor's office with my chart.

The doctor sighed sympathetically. "Miss Thorne, your uterine lining is very thin. If you terminate this pregnancy, it will be nearly impossible for you to conceive again."

I stared silently at the report confirming I was two months along.

My mind was filled with the image of Alaric leaning against Elowen's stomach, his eyes overflowing with a tenderness I hadn't seen in years.

Ten years ago, I drowned in that same gaze. I gave up my chance to study abroad and abandoned my dreams of being a concert pianist for him.

Step by step, I learned how to pull a trigger with hands meant for ivory keys. I grew used to a life on the edge of a blade.

But the moment Elowen appeared, everything I had done became a joke.

Seeing my silence, the doctor continued.

"Miss Thorne, your situation is delicate. Does your husband know?"

I looked up, my eyes flat and calm.

"My husband is dead."

An hour later, I leaned against the hospital wall, my face ghostly pale.

Once the color returned to my lips, I called my brother's caregiver.

"Leo's nurse? I'm transferring my brother to a private facility in New York this week. Keep it quiet. Mr. Blackwood must not find out."

Then, I had my most trusted associate prepare a divorce agreement.

Just as I finished the arrangements, my men sent over Elowen's full file.

In my last life, I hated her so much I couldn't even look at a photo of her.

Living a second time, I felt strangely peaceful. I was curious what kind of saint could captivate a man like Alaric, who had seen everything.

I opened the file and a video popped up.

In a crumbling old church, a girl played "Marriage d'Amour" on a battered piano.

Sunlight filtered down onto her faded white dress.

She looked as pure and clean as a daisy after the rain.

Alaric, only visible in profile, was smiling gently, his eyes full of adoration.

I suddenly hit pause.

I ran to the restroom and began to heave.

It was too ridiculous.

The woman he had fallen for was actually the version of me from ten years ago.