Chapter 1 - The Morning After
The morning sun bled through the heavy velvet curtains of the master bedroom.
It cast long, sharp shadows across the intricate patterns of the expensive Persian rug.
Thea woke up in the oversized armchair, her heavy wedding dress finally replaced by a simple silk robe she had found in the closet.
Lachlan Voss was already awake.
He was standing by the massive bay window with a cup of black coffee in his hand.
He wore a sharply tailored suit, but the dark glasses were conspicuously absent from his face.
"You promised me the truth," she said, her voice slightly raspy from a desperate lack of sleep.
He turned to face her, his gray-blue eyes pinning her to the spot with an intensity that made her breath catch.
"Three years ago, the brakes on my car were intentionally severed before a drive through the canyon," he began.
"The crash absolutely should have killed me, but it only caused a severe concussion and temporary blindness."
"While I was recovering in the hospital, my vision fully returned within a single week."
"But during that week of darkness, I heard my uncle Julian talking to the mechanic who sabotaged my car."
"I realized the only way to survive and find enough evidence to purge the company was to stay blind."
"If they thought I was a helpless cripple, they would stop trying to finish the job."
Thea absorbed the crushing weight of his secret, realizing the immense danger she had just married into.
"Why tell me this right now?" she asked, pulling the silk robe much tighter around her bare shoulders.
"Because my grandmother Astrid hired you to spy on me, thinking your desperation for money would make you easily controlled," he replied calmly.
"I need you to be completely loyal to me instead."
He walked across the room and handed her a small electronic device that looked exactly like an ordinary silver pen.
"Sweep the room with this, and you will understand why I need an ally."
Thea pressed the small button on the side of the device.
A red light immediately began to flash furiously as she pointed it toward a vintage bedside lamp.
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Hidden deep inside the lampshade was a microscopic camera lens.
It was currently transmitting every single move they made to an unknown watcher.
