Chapter 1
At seven the next morning, a black Cadillac waited outside Nora’s apartment building in Pilsen. Two dark SUVs idled behind it. Neighbors watched through curtains.
Nora stood inside her studio in a robe, wondering whether she had rescued Maya or delivered both of them into something worse.
Maya sat on the foldout couch hugging a stuffed bear.
“Is the scary rich man really your husband?” she asked.
“Not yet.”
“Do you love him?”
“This is complicated, honey.”
“That means no.”
“It means I met him last night.”
Maya’s eyes went wide. “You’re marrying a stranger?”
“He’s helping us stay together.”
“Owen said he was helping too.”
The quiet accusation hurt more than expected. Nora sat beside her sister.
“I made a mistake trusting Owen. But I’m not asking you to trust Cade yet. I’m asking you to trust me long enough to see whether this can keep us safe.”
A knock sounded at the door.
A woman’s voice called from the hallway. “Ms. Callahan? My name is Francesca, and Mr. Moreno has given me ninety minutes to perform a miracle.”
Francesca entered with two assistants, rolling racks, and the confidence of a military commander. She was elegant, silver-haired, and unimpressed by the apartment’s size.
She took one look at the oversized cardigan Nora had planned to wear and set it aside.
“That covers your stomach,” Nora said.
“That is precisely why it is unacceptable. You are going into a room where a wealthy woman intends to convince strangers that you are small and unworthy. You will not assist her by dressing as though you wish to disappear.”
Francesca selected a navy wrap dress with a structured waist.
“That won’t fit,” Nora said.
“It was made from measurements Mr. Moreno’s office obtained from the uniform company.”
The revelation should have disturbed her. She was too stunned to respond.
Francesca’s voice softened. “He gave one instruction. Enhance her power. Do not hide her presence.”
Twenty minutes later, Nora stared into the bathroom mirror.
The dress followed the generous curves of her body without squeezing them. Her auburn hair fell in polished waves. For the first time in years, she did not look like a woman trying to become acceptable. She looked like herself, only unafraid.
Maya appeared behind her.
“You look like the mayor.”
“Is that good?”
“You look like someone Aunt Miriam can’t boss around.”
Cade waited beside the Cadillac in a navy suit and silver tie. When Nora stepped onto the sidewalk, his gaze moved over her slowly.
She braced herself for an approving remark about the dress.
Instead, he said, “There you are.”
Two words. Yet they struck something deep inside her.
He opened the door for Maya first, then offered Nora his hand.
During the drive, Cade’s attorney, Diana Marsh, reviewed the prenuptial agreement. Diana was a calm woman who explained every clause plainly and warned Nora not to sign anything she didn’t understand.
“The Highland Park property belongs solely to you,” Diana said. “He cannot reclaim it after divorce. The education trust for Maya becomes irrevocable upon marriage. You retain complete authority over medical and schooling decisions.”
Nora glanced at Cade. “You agreed to all of this?”
“I proposed it.”
“And if I wake up tomorrow and want out?”
“You may live separately immediately,” Diana said. “No requirement to share a bedroom or appear publicly together beyond legal proceedings.”
At the county clerk’s office, the ceremony took place in a private room with cream walls and fluorescent lighting. Maya stood beside Nora holding a small bouquet one of Cade’s men had purchased from a street vendor.
“Do you, Cade Antonio Moreno, take Nora Rose Callahan to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
Cade looked at her rather than the clerk.
“I do.”
His voice carried none of the hesitation she expected from a man entering an arrangement.
“Do you, Nora Rose Callahan, take Cade Antonio Moreno to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
She thought about Owen’s message. Miriam’s contempt. Maya’s suitcase.
Then she looked into Cade’s dark eyes and found something she hadn’t expected.
Patience.
“I do.”
They signed the certificate. Cade slid a simple platinum band onto her finger.
The clerk looked between them uncertainly. “You may kiss the bride.”
Nora stiffened.
Cade noticed.
He raised her hand instead and pressed his lips lightly to her knuckles.
The gesture was restrained, almost old-fashioned, but warmth traveled up her arm.
Maya smiled.
—
By nine-ten, they were entering Courtroom 302.
Miriam sat beside her attorney in a cream designer suit and pearls, posture straight with confidence. She smiled when she saw Nora.
May you like
Then Cade stepped through the door behind her.
The smile vanished.
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