Chapter 1

I sold my body to my husband, Cade Sterling.

One hundred thousand dollars. That was his price for a night with me. The only thing keeping our son, Leo, alive.

My stepmother whispered lies in his ear, and he believed them. He forced another woman into our bed while I was forced onto an operating table.

"You're pregnant," the nurse said, her voice a sterile blade. "Mr. Sterling has requested a termination."

Then, I was forced to watch my son Leo, my only reason for living, leap from a cliff to save me from further torment.

He was gone.

My husband had murdered our first child, and now our second. There was nothing left to live for.

In the cold, scarlet water of the bathtub, I finally let go.

But as darkness claimed me, I didn't know the truth was a far more cruel and twisted thing than I could have ever imagined.

And that Cade Sterling, my tormentor, was about to pay a price far greater than money could ever cover.

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1

The heavy oak door of the penthouse office slammed open.

Aria Montgomery walked in, her spine straight, her face a mask of indifference. “Cade, tonight you…”

The words died in her throat. The scene on the plush leather couch was a familiar, brutal blow. Her heart fractured, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of her tears.

Cade Sterling, her husband, was entangled with a runway model. Their clothes were in a heap on the marble floor. They were both disheveled, their skin flushed.

This had happened too many times to count. Witnessing her husband’s infidelity had become a sickening routine, yet the pain never dulled. It was a fresh stab every single time, twisting deeper.

Cade’s gaze, cold as the city skyline outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, met hers. He was annoyed by the interruption. “Aria, what gives you the right to walk in here?”

She fought the knot of tears tightening her throat. “Cade, will you come to the townhouse tonight? You haven't been back in three days,” she asked, her voice steady, betraying none of the storm inside her.

“Hmph!”

A cruel smirk played on his lips. “Aria, drop the act. You’re just here for the money. You want to get paid, don’t you?” He didn’t hesitate to humiliate her in front of his latest conquest.

Aria’s face went pale, but she couldn’t deny it. That was exactly why she was here.

The model, Rosa, shifted irritably. She wrapped her slender arms around Cade’s neck, pulling his face toward her bare chest. She wasn’t about to lose her prize.

“Cade, ignore her. I want more of you.”

“Hush. Go home. I’ll send a car. You’ll get everything you want tomorrow,” Cade promised her. His eyes were fixed on Aria, enjoying the grim, broken expression he knew he would find on her face.

Rosa, placated by his promise, stood up. She shot Aria a look of pure contempt before her heels clicked down the long corridor, the sound echoing in the cavernous office.

“Kneel.”

The command was sharp, absolute, as soon as the model was gone.

Aria flinched. The coldness of the order surprised her. She hadn't expected him to want her here, in his office. “Cade, can we go home? Please?” She bit her lip, a nervous habit she hated.

She didn’t want to be in a space still warm from another woman.

“What? I’m the one paying for this transaction. Don’t I get to choose the venue?”

“That’s not what I meant. I just don’t want to…”

“Then kneel!” he cut her off harshly. His patience was gone.

Aria Montgomery’s hesitation only tightened the tension in the room. Enraged, Cade Sterling grabbed her arm and forced her down onto the expensive Persian rug.

The model’s cloying perfume still clung to him, a scent that made Aria’s stomach turn. “Cade, could you please shower first?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“Ha!” He wouldn’t dignify that with an answer. He held her in nothing but contempt.

“Aria, let me be clear. You are here to sell your body. You don’t get to make requests.”

Fourteen years. She had loved him for fourteen years, and she wasn’t even worth basic human decency. The dam finally broke. Tears streamed down her face, silent and hot.

But she got what she came for. They had sex.

Afterward, he didn't hand her cash. That was too personal. He sat at his desk, opened his laptop, and made a wire transfer. He turned the screen toward her. “There. One hundred thousand. Check your account.”

The number on the screen cut her more deeply than any physical blow. She knelt on the floor, her body aching, her dignity shattered.

But that money was the only thing that could save their son’s life.

They were married, but he treated her like a high-end escort he despised.

He paid her for sex. One hundred thousand dollars was their agreed-upon price.

The payment was always instant. A cold, impersonal digital transaction.

Cade preferred the detachment of a wire transfer. It reinforced the nature of their arrangement.

He justified it this way—he needed to feel the power his money gave him over her. The cold finality of the digital receipt was a pleasure he savored after every session.

But one hundred thousand was barely enough for Leo’s experimental treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering. She needed more.

With no other choice, Aria turned her face away, hiding her shame. She knelt before him again.

“Cade, I need… I need more,” she said, her teeth gritted against the crushing weight of her humiliation.