The sight of the news bulletin was the final straw for Nancy Helwart. The carefully constructed facade of the dignified matriarch shattered, replaced by a cold, seething rage. That common secretary was not only poisoning her chosen daughter-in-law but was now engaging in public brawls, dragging the Helwart name through the mud.

Her voice was a low, venomous hiss to the bodyguard standing sentinel by the door. "Follow them. Michael and that woman. I want to know everything."

Her instincts were ...