ManyWriters

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.

His Ruinous Price

A bitter north wind howled through the city streets.


Cade sprinted toward the garage in a frantic haze, oblivious to the fact that he wasn't even wearing a jacket.


He had to get to that riverbank, had to see her, had to scream at the media to retract their fake news.


And he needed doctors, the best doctors, on standby.


In his haste, he jabbed a call to Logan, ordering him to dispatch an elite medical team to the scene immediately.


His girl was hurt, severely injured, and only the world's most brilliant physicians could provide the care she required.


He slammed his foot on the accelerator without hesitation, the engine roaring as the car tore through the city, blowing through more than a dozen red lights to reach her in the shortest possible time, turning an hour-long journey into a desperate thirty-minute race.


Though Aria’s recent past included a prison sentence, her death was still a major story. As a former socialite and artist of some renown, her name still held enough weight to entice reporters, who were salivating at the chance to sensationalize her tragic history.


Cade and Aria’s marriage had been a fiercely guarded secret, so the press remained oblivious to the fact that she was the enigmatic Mrs. Sterling, the woman the public had been dying to glimpse.


If they had known, her body wouldn’t be lying under a simple sheet, it would be the center of a media circus, blinding flashbulbs capturing every angle for a bigger headline.


When Cade skidded to a halt at the scene, they had already laid Aria’s body on the muddy riverbank, where she lay unnervingly still beneath the white fabric that concealed every trace of her.


He bolted from the car and charged toward her form, his sudden appearance stunning the reporters, who swarmed him like vultures sensing a fresh kill.


A few veteran journalists recalled the old rumors about Cade and Aria’s past romance, and the moment they saw the bloodshot fury in his eyes, they knew they had stumbled upon a monumental story.


Anything involving the formidable Mr. Sterling was a guaranteed front-page scoop.


The reporters buzzed with eagerness to get a quote from Cade, but he remained murderously hostile, silencing them with a single terrifying glare that dared any of them to approach.


With one violent motion, he tore the white sheet from her body.


“Who gave you permission to cover her face? are you trying to suffocate her?”


The bizarre outburst startled the gathered press into a confused silence.


How can she breathe if she’s dead? Has Mr. Sterling lost his mind?


Logan, who had just arrived, saw the dangerous glint in Cade’s eyes and knew he had to intervene, stepping forward to say with solemn grief, “Boss, Ms. Montgomery… Ms. Montgomery is gone.”


“Gone?” Cade staggered, his body swaying as he retreated into a fortress of denial, snarling back, “Cut the crap, Logan. Can’t you see she’s right here? Who the hell told you she was gone?”


Without another thought, Cade dropped to his knees and gathered the body into his arms, cradling her with an impossible tenderness, as if she were the most precious treasure in the world.


Logan couldn’t bear to watch, turning his head away to hide the tears streaming down his face.


Cade, in his broken state, had no time to notice his friend’s grief. All of his focus, his entire world, had narrowed to the woman in his arms.


Taking a shuddering breath, Logan tried to regain his composure, desperately searching for words of comfort that he knew would never come.


“Aria, don’t sleep anymore, okay,” Cade whispered, his voice cracking, “I was wrong, I was so, so wrong. I shouldn't have protected Kendra, I shouldn't have let you down. Aria, please, just open your eyes and look at me. I don't like it when you sleep so soundly.”


Chapter 24