Chapter 2

2.

"Are you out of your mind?" I shouted into the phone. "The Ethereal Silk Armor must be fixed tonight! If we miss this window, this national treasure is gone forever!"

"Can you afford that liability?" I added. If that thing was destroyed, the entire Sterling family couldn't pay for it if they sold their souls.

"Enough!" Hunter snapped. "Stop hiding behind your fake patriotism to lecture me!"

"I've done my research. Those old rags you fix aren't that special. Any master could do it. You think you're irreplaceable?"

He laughed coldly. "You built this expert persona to trick my grandfather. You just want to cling to my family and marry into wealth."

"Well, I'm telling you now, even if you get your way, I won't play along. This studio stays with Sia!"

My heart turned cold. I cared about the relic, so I pushed back. "Hunter, this isn't about your ego. Only I have the skill to fix that armor!"

"Avery, don't think the world stops spinning without you!" he said dismissively. "I've already flown in a master from France. Stay out of it!"

I was the project lead, and I was the last to know the restorer had been replaced. If the keypad wasn't broken, I would have stormed in.

Now, I could only watch helplessly. "Hunter, that's a national treasure, not a craft project. Your family can't handle the fallout if something goes wrong!"

Everyone in the restoration world knew Avery Vance. People lined up for my help.

If it wasn't for a stroke of luck, the Sterlings wouldn't even be able to get an appointment with me. But the relic was more important than this trash of a man.

Hunter paused for a second. "Avery, stop trying to scare me. Nothing will go wrong. I make the calls for the Sterling family!"

With that, he hung up. Sia watched the drama with her arms crossed, laughing hysterically.

"Do you finally know your place?" One of her friends held up a phone, live-streaming the whole thing. "Sia, the fans are asking who this crazy woman is!"

Sia leaned into the camera with a fake sweet smile. "Darlings, she's just a nobody trying to crawl her way into Hunter's life. She claims to be a restorer. Can you believe it?"

Was I hallucinating? I was the official fiancée, yet I was being labeled a home-wrecker in a live stream.

"Don't you all know Mr. Sterling has a fiancée?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Please!" a guard scoffed. "Mr. Sterling already said that engagement was a scam. It was just a show to get a contract with the National Museum. We only recognize Miss Reed as the lady of the house!"

Sia looked satisfied. She pulled a brand-new access card from her bag and waved it in my face.

It had her photo and the title: "Chief Art Director of the Sterling Group." I was furious.

The Sterling family was rotten to the core. If I had known Hunter was this pathetic, I wouldn't have married him even if he paid me.

I checked the time. The window for the armor's restoration was closing in an hour.

"Last warning. If you destroy that relic, you can't carry that responsibility. Get out now, and I might act like this never happened."

Sia's eyes went wide. "A lowly repair girl is threatening me?"

She suddenly grabbed a heavy bronze inkstone from my workbench. It was my personal property. "You think I won't kill you with your own tools?"

I didn't have time to waste. Since the guards were blocking the door, I bolted toward the main power breaker at the end of the hall.

I wanted to cut the power to trigger the backup security system. I only made it two steps before the guards tackled me.

They slammed me against the wall. The impact sent a jolt of pain through my organs.

I tasted copper as I coughed up a mouthful of blood. Sia sashayed over and snatched my phone from my pocket.

She unlocked it and scrolled through my photos with a sneer. "Ugh, you still have photos with Hunter? Disgusting."

She laughed and smashed the phone onto the floor. Then she gripped my throat. "Did I say you could leave?"