Claire sat in the white car and watched the car wash get smaller in the side mirror. Her chest felt tight and she didn't know why.Ethan hadn't argued with her, he hadn't even taken the money. He had just signed and said, "Be happy, Claire."She told herself that proved she had done the right thing. It was better to end it clean than let it drag on until they hated each other."You did the right thing," Preston said, keeping his eyes on the road. "Guys like that never get it anyway."Claire didn't answer, she kept her hands in her lap and looked out the window.Back at the car wash, Ethan was still standing by his locker. The ring was heavy in his pocket, and he kept thinking about that check. Fifty thousand dollars, pushed at him like a tip.He had said no because his pride wouldn't let him say yes. But he knew how people treated a man with empty pockets, and today he had seen it up close.He had no place to go, since the apartment was in Claire's name. He had forty dollars in his wa

Diane and Jessica stood frozen on the steps. They knew who Olivia Grant was, and they knew she meant every word.Diane opened her mouth to argue, then shut it again. Jessica tugged at her sleeve, and the two of them walked off down the sidewalk without looking back. People were still filming, and Jessica kept her face turned away."Mom, that's it for us at this bank," Jessica said once they were far enough. "All because of him.""Don't worry," Diane said through her teeth. "That card is fake, I'd bet my life on it. Once the staff checks it, they'll find out and the police will come. He'll get a lot worse than we did."She took out her phone and called Claire. She didn't wait for a hello."Claire, your husband just hit me. I'm at the bank, I fell down the steps, and my hip is killing me." Her voice was shaking, and it sounded real. "And that's not even the worst of it. He's mixed up with some gang of thieves. He showed up here with a fake black card trying to cheat the bank out of mone

Claire heard it from the people standing near the door. Two women whispered it behind their glasses, and then a man said it out loud to his friend, as if he couldn't believe it either. That was Olivia Grant, the senior director of Sterling Crown Bank.Claire felt something heavy settle in her chest. She had asked for the divorce only a few hours ago, and already Ethan was walking in with a woman everyone in the room knew by name. She told herself it didn't matter, but she couldn't shake the feeling.She looked at Olivia's back, then at the way Ethan walked beside her, calm and easy, like he'd been going to dinners like this his whole life. That wasn't how she remembered him at all.The ballroom was huge. Crystal lights hung from the ceiling, round tables were set with white cloths and gold plates, and a small band was playing near the stage. At the far end stood a long table with a velvet cloth over it, where the auction items would be shown later.The moment Preston stepped inside, p

Preston stared at Ethan for a long moment. Then a slow smile spread over his face, and he leaned back in his chair.Fifteen million. It was a big number, and a man like Ethan could never say it with his own money. Somebody was backing him, and Preston didn't need to guess who. Olivia was sitting right next to him, sipping her wine like she had nothing to do with it.But Preston knew something that Ethan didn't. Harold Mercer ran his auctions by a strict rule, and everyone in the upper circle of the city knew it. The person who bid and the person who paid had to be the same. Nobody could pay for someone else, and no one could send a friend or a bank to cover the bill.Ethan couldn't know that. If he did, he wouldn't be sitting there so calm. He thought Olivia would simply write a check for him, and he was about to find out that she couldn't.Preston picked up his paddle. He wanted to teach this man a lesson he would never forget."Fifteen million and five hundred thousand," he called o