Marcus's POV

Ten years. Ten years since I'd seen my father's face, and here he was, at some meaningless Chicago party, looking at me like I was still the son who'd disappointed him.

Emma's hand in mine was the only thing keeping me from walking out. Or putting my fist through something. Preferably Ryan's face, but I'd already promised Emma we'd be civilized.

"Father." The word tasted like ash.

Richard Blackwood stepped closer, and I saw the changes time had carved into him. Deeper lines, thinner hair, but the same cold eyes that had looked right through me my entire childhood.

"You look well," he said, as if we'd last spoken yesterday instead of a decade ago. "Success suits you."

"It does." I kept my voice level, professional. The voice I used for hostile takeovers. "If you'll excuse us—"

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your companion?"

Emma shifted beside me, and I felt her confusion. She didn't know. Of course she didn't know. I'd been so careful to keep the Blackwood name separation intact. Ryan had been a Thompson when they married, using our mother's maiden name like the coward he was.

"This is Emma Chen," I said, pulling her protectively closer. "Emma, Richard Blackwood."

"Your father," she said softly, understanding dawning in those expressive brown eyes.

"Unfortunately."

Richard's laugh was humorless. "Still holding grudges, Marcus? That's not good for business."

"My business is none of your concern."

"It is when you're destroying your brother's career."

There it was. The real reason he was here. Somehow, he'd found out about the Thompson Marketing acquisition.

Emma's sharp intake of breath cut through me. She was smart. Too smart. The pieces were clicking together in her mind. I could see it happening, watch the realization dawn.

"Brother," she whispered. "Ryan is your—"

"We should go." I started to lead her away, but Richard's voice stopped me.

"Ryan doesn't know you're back. Doesn't know you bought his company."

I turned slowly. "Good."

"You're going to destroy him for something that happened ten years ago?"

"No." I looked directly at Emma. "I'm going to destroy him for what he did to her."

Emma's face was pale, her hand trembling in mine. "You knew. This whole time, you knew who I was."

"Emma—"

"You let me think this was random. That I stumbled into your room by accident." Her voice was rising. "But you knew exactly who I was when you made your deal."

"Can we discuss this privately?"

"Why? So you can lie more?" She tried to pull away, but I held on.

"I never lied."

"You never told the truth either!" She was attracting attention now, people turning to stare. "I'm just a pawn in whatever sick game you're playing with your family."

"You're not a pawn."

"Then what am I?"

I wanted to tell her she was everything. That she was the first real thing I'd felt in ten years. That destroying Ryan had started as business but became personal the moment I saw how he'd broken her.

But my father was watching, and I'd learned long ago never to show him what mattered.

"You're under my protection," I said instead.

Wrong answer. I knew it the moment the words left my mouth. Emma's eyes filled with tears she was too proud to let fall.

"I don't need your protection. I need the truth." She finally yanked free. "Enjoy your family reunion."

She walked away, head high, every inch the queen I'd been teaching her to be. I started after her, but Richard grabbed my arm.

"Let her go. She's too good for this family anyway."

I shook him off. "Like Mother was?"

Direct hit. He flinched.

"Your mother left because she was weak."

"She left because you and Ryan destroyed her. Just like you tried to destroy me." I straightened my jacket. "But I'm not Mom. I don't break. I break others."

"Is that what you're doing to that girl? Breaking her?"

"I'm saving her."

"From Ryan? Or for yourself?"

Both. The answer was both, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"Stay away from Emma. Stay away from me. And tell Ryan to sign the divorce papers."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll destroy more than just his career." I leaned closer, letting him see the man I'd become. The man he'd created. "I'll take everything. The company, the reputation, the family name. I'll leave him with nothing, just like you left me."

"I gave you everything!"

"You gave Ryan everything. You gave me lessons in betrayal." I smiled, cold as winter. "Thanks for that, by the way. They've been very useful."

I walked away, but his voice followed me.

"She'll leave you too, Marcus. When she finds out what you really are. What we made you."

I didn't stop. Didn't look back. But his words chased me into the night.

I found Emma in the garden, standing by the fountain. Moonlight turned her tears into diamonds. The sight of her crying because of me was a knife between my ribs.

"Go away," she said without turning.

"I can't."

"Is this part of the show? Got to make sure your fake girlfriend doesn't blow your cover?"

"There's no cover. Not anymore." I stopped a foot away, close enough to touch but not daring to. "Ask me anything."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because if you knew who I was, you'd never have agreed to this."

"You're right." She turned to face me, and the pain in her eyes nearly brought me to my knees. "I'd never have agreed to be part of a family vendetta."

"It's not just about family."

"Then what is it about?"

Everything. You. The way you laughed when you were drunk. The way you kiss like you're drowning. The way you make me remember what it felt like to be human.

"Ryan took something from me once," I said instead. "My first company. My fiancée. My family. I swore I'd return the favor someday."

"So I'm your revenge? You're stealing your brother's wife?"

"Ex-wife. And no." I risked stepping closer. "You were never supposed to be part of it. I was just going to buy his company, fire him, end it clean. Then you crashed into my room."

"And you saw an opportunity."

"I saw a broken woman who deserved better." My hands ached to touch her. "I saw someone Ryan had destroyed, just like he destroyed everything good he touched. And yes, I wanted to hurt him. But Emma, that's not why—"

"Why what?"

"Why I can't stop thinking about you. Why that kiss on the dance floor nearly killed me. Why watching you walk away just now felt like losing something I didn't know I needed."