Chapter 1 - THE MAN WHO FOUND ME IN THE RAIN
The first thing I remember after Damon Thorne lifted me from the pavement was the warmth.
Not his arms.
The car.
The Maybach was heated like a private sanctuary, completely silent except for the pounding rain against the windows.
I was shivering so violently that my teeth clicked together.
“Stay awake,” Damon said.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
I looked up at him.
The ruthless man everyone in Manhattan feared was kneeling beside me, one hand supporting my shoulders while the other pressed a folded cashmere handkerchief against the blood on my dress.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
His eyebrows drew together.
“For what?”
“For causing trouble.”
Something changed in his eyes.
“Clara, you are having a baby in the middle of a storm. You are not causing trouble.”
The way he said my name made me freeze.
“You know my name?”
“I know more than your name.”
Before I could ask what that meant, the car accelerated.
One of his security men spoke into an earpiece.
“St. Vincent’s has cleared the emergency entrance.”
Damon looked at me.
“Your daughter is coming early.”
I nodded weakly.
“Six weeks.”
“Then we don't have time to waste.”
Another contraction ripped through me.
I cried out.
Damon immediately took my hand.
“Breathe.”
“I can't.”
“Yes, you can.”
“I can't!”
“You can.”
His grip tightened.
“Look at me.”
I did.
“Not the pain. Me.”
For some reason, I obeyed.
The contraction passed.
I collapsed against the leather seat.
Damon didn't release my hand.
Then I remembered Julian.
“My husband…”
Damon's expression hardened.
“He won't be coming.”
I stared at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I gave him an opportunity to act like your husband.”
My heart sank.
“What did you do?”
“I made one phone call.”
“About Julian?”
“Yes.”
“To whom?”
He looked out the window.
“To every bank, investor, and board member connected to Sterling Holdings.”
My mouth fell open.
“You can't destroy his company because of me.”
“I can.”
“Why?”
He finally looked back at me.
“Because he left you to die.”
The car stopped.
Doctors rushed toward us.
Damon stepped out first.
Then he lifted me again.
The last thing I saw before the hospital doors opened was his face.
Not anger.
Not pity.
Something far more dangerous.
Recognition.
Three hours later, I woke beneath fluorescent lights.
A nurse smiled.
“Congratulations.”
I immediately reached for my stomach.
“Where's my baby?”
“She’s here.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“Is she okay?”
“She’s tiny, but she's fighting.”
I began crying.
“Can I see her?”
“Soon.”
Then I noticed the man standing by the window.
Damon.
He had removed his wet coat.
His shirt sleeves were rolled to his forearms.
There was blood on one cuff.
My blood.
“You stayed.”
He turned.
“I said I would.”
“You don't owe me anything.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
He was silent for several seconds.
Finally he said:
“Because fifteen years ago, your father saved my life.”
I stared at him.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“But my father died when I was seventeen.”
“I know.”
Damon approached my bed.
“He didn't just save me.”
He placed a sealed envelope beside me.
“He asked me to protect you if the Sterling family ever tried to destroy you.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
May you like
Damon looked directly into my eyes.
“Your father knew your marriage was a trap.”
