Five hundred of Chicago’s richest people laughed when a billionaire pointed at me—the maid kneeling beside a shattered champagne glass—and announced, “If you can outdance my wife, you can marry my son.” What none of them knew was that twelve years earlier, I had been an undefeated ballroom champion…and the accident that made me disappear had nearly taken my leg.

The deafening roar of automatic gunfire completely drowned out Daniel's desperate scream.

I dragged Ethan toward the hidden panel beneath the Persian rug, tears streaming rapidly down my face.

We dropped into the dark, narrow ventilation shaft just as the cartel mercenaries stormed into the ruined study above us.

I could hear the men tearing the room apart, aggressively kicking Vivian's unconscious body as they searched for the missing ledger.

We crawled agonizingly slowly through the dusty, cramped tunnel, Ethan leaving a terrible trail of blood behind us.

My injured leg burned with a fiery, exhausting pain, but the sheer will to survive pushed me relentlessly forward.

We finally reached the end of the shaft and dropped down into the cold, damp environment of the underground wine cellar.

I leaned Ethan against a massive oak barrel, desperately checking his pulse as he began to slip into unconsciousness.

I begged him to stay awake, promising him that I would teach him how to properly waltz once we got out of this nightmare alive.

He smiled weakly, his dark eyes locking onto mine with a profound, unspoken love that entirely broke my heart.

Before I could kiss him, the heavy iron doors of the cellar were violently kicked open by Walter Ashford.

Walter marched into the room flanked by five massive armed guards, looking completely unbothered by the chaos consuming his estate.

He looked down at his bleeding son and laughed, a cruel, soulless sound that echoed off the cold stone walls.

He raised a heavy, black handgun and aimed it directly at my face, blaming me for utterly destroying his perfect family.

Walter coldly ordered his men to pour gasoline all over the expensive wine barrels to burn us alive and hide the evidence.

Ethan tried to lift his weapon, but he was far too weak to even raise his arm properly.

I stood up, placing myself entirely between the loaded gun and the injured man I had unexpectedly fallen in love with.

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My father bet twenty dollars that I would walk through his front door al...

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I stared defiantly into Walter's arrogant eyes, ready to embrace the end with absolute dignity.

Just as Walter's finger tightened on the trigger, a blinding spotlight instantly illuminated the dark cellar through the high security windows.

Chapter 9 - The Ultimate Sacrifice