ix hours after becoming Mrs. Axton Callaway, I lay in our wedding-night bed with his hand on my waist and his ring cold against my skin—then he whispered one word that shattered everything. “Mila.” My little sister’s name.

I screamed as Mila hit the concrete floor with a sickening, heavy thud.

I sprinted toward her broken body, completely ignoring the danger above me.

Mila was barely breathing, her eyes staring blankly at the warehouse ceiling.

"Hold on, Mila, just stay with me!" I sobbed, pressing my hands against her bleeding shoulder.

Julian stood over us, keeping his weapon trained on the catwalk above.

Axton leaned over the railing, a dark red stain spreading rapidly across his white tuxedo shirt.

"You really ruined a perfectly planned evening, Callie," Axton coughed, spitting blood onto the metal grate.

He raised his gun again, aiming it weakly at Julian's head.

Before Axton could pull the trigger, Julian fired three rapid shots perfectly into Axton's chest.

The impact threw my husband backward into the shadows, out of our sight entirely.

"Is he dead?" I asked, my entire body shaking with pure terror.

"I am not taking any chances," Julian replied, slowly making his way toward the metal stairs.

I looked down at Mila, who was weakly grabbing my wrist.

"I am so sorry I betrayed you," Mila whispered, tears streaming down her pale face.

"I was just so desperate for the money, and he manipulated everything."

I forgave her in that moment, knowing Axton was a monster who preyed on vulnerable people.

"We are going to get you to a hospital," I promised, pulling off my silk robe to apply pressure to her wound.

Julian reached the top of the catwalk and cautiously approached Axton's body.

"He is completely unresponsive, Callie," Julian called down to me.

I let out a massive breath of relief, feeling the nightmare finally ending.

The sound of police sirens began wailing in the distance, growing louder by the second.

Julian rushed back down the stairs to help me lift Mila off the freezing floor.

As we carried her toward the exit, my cell phone buzzed in my pocket.

The Clumsy Maid Bathed His Dog—Then The Mafia Boss Said She Wasn’t Leavi...

She found her husband with another woman and walked away so quietly that...

The Mafia Boss Asked a Disabled Widow If She Was Okay

It was an automated alert from my bank notifying me of a massive withdrawal.

Axton had somehow transferred my entire fortune to an offshore account while we were fighting.

Chapter 6 - The Fall