From the outside, the mansion looked like the sort of place where a family might live happily ever after.Inside, Isaac Thornton knew better.“Isaac! Where the hell are you? What’s taking so long? Get over here and clean this up!”Ruby Pugh stood in the living room with two other women, all three dressed as though they had never needed to lift a finger in their lives. Isaac kept his head down. He wiped the spots his wife had pointed out, then collected the bowls of water they had used to wash up and carried them away.Before he could sit down, Ruby called him back.This was his life as the Pugh family’s live-in son-in-law. He did the cooking, cleaning, laundry—whatever anyone demanded—and took the blame whenever something went wrong. In this house, he ranked somewhere below the family dog.He and Ruby had been married for two and a half years. She had never treated him like a husband. In fact, she could barely stand the sight of him. He slept in a cramped storage room, away from the r

“Listen to yourself!” Christopher Hartnett snarled. “A broke nobody riding around on a beat-up scooter, acting like he's better than me. Who gave you the nerve?”Isaac Thornton didn't bother answering. He walked Ruby into Vanguard Group without giving Christopher another glance.“You son of a bitch!” Christopher shouted after him. “I'll make you regret this!”Still furious, he kicked Isaac's scooter. Then he kicked it again, hard enough to bend part of the bodywork.Upstairs, in her CEO's office, Ruby sat behind her desk, glaring at her husband.Christopher was wealthy, influential, and connected to the Thornton family. Right now, Ruby needed investors more than she needed her pride. If Christopher withdrew his support because of Isaac's behavior, Vanguard Group could collapse.She couldn't believe she had let Isaac bring her to work.“Get out,” she said. “I don't want to look at you right now.”Isaac nodded. “All right.”He left without arguing.Ruby thought bitterly of the women in

“Why?” Isaac asked, genuinely confused.Sara Davis looked at him as though the answer ought to be obvious.“Because someone like you doesn't deserve a seat next to me.”Isaac glanced down at his clothes. They weren't expensive, but he had washed them the night before. What exactly was so offensive about them?He was about to answer when someone caught his arm.“Come on, man. Let it go.”It was Andy Howell, the classmate who had sat beside him all through high school. Back then, the two of them had been inseparable. Tonight, Andy seemed to be the only person at the reunion who still wanted to talk to him.Andy led him into a quieter corner.“Look around,” he said in a low voice. “These people have money, connections, and egos to match. They already think they're better than us. There's no point giving them another chance to put us down.”Isaac shrugged and helped himself to some food.Later, after a few drinks, Sara took the microphone and began singing. Colored lights swept across the

Isaac looked at the woman standing before him. She was poised, well dressed, and clearly nervous. This had to be the secretary Uncle Jake had mentioned.“Mr. Thornton, I'm terribly sorry,” Quinn Bateman said. “There was a crowd of photographers blocking the road. I should have left earlier. I apologize for keeping you waiting.”She kept her voice low, afraid her new boss might already be angry with her.River Davis stared at them.“Quinn! What are you doing?” she shouted. “Why are you bowing to this loser? He's just some nobody trying to get a security job!”Quinn blinked. “I'm sorry. Have I—?”She took out her phone and opened the photograph Jake Thornton had sent her. She compared it with the man standing in front of her.No mistake.“Ms. Davis,” she said carefully, “this is Mr. Thornton. He's Aether Group's new president.”Silence fell over the entrance.Sara Davis let out a disbelieving laugh. “You must have the wrong guy. Isaac's always been broke. There's no way he's president o

Christopher Hartnett still had no idea what he'd done wrong.One day, his money and business interests had been taken away. Someone in the Thornton family had told him he'd offended a person he couldn't afford to cross, but nobody would say who.He'd gone over every conversation he could remember. He had never dared to pick a fight with the company's senior executives. Who could he possibly have upset?Now Ruby Pugh was calling him in front of a roomful of people.“Christopher,” she said gently, “do you remember the Elysian Slingback heels you gave me? Do you think you could get another pair?”Christopher closed his eyes. Shoes were the last thing he wanted to discuss. Since losing his fortune, he'd barely been able to cover his own expenses.“Ruby,” he said, “you mean the fake pair I gave you?”“Fake?”Ruby and Vicky Ritchson looked down at the shoes on Ruby's feet.There was nothing fake about them. Anyone familiar with the design could see they were genuine.Ruby ended the call, be