Chapter 1 - The Woman Nobody Wanted
They called Nora Hayes defective before they called her daughter.
At twenty-six, she had already learned that silence was safer than tears.
She sat alone in the back of her father's black sedan, staring through the tinted window as Chicago blurred past in streaks of rain and headlights.
Five hours earlier, a doctor had told her she would almost certainly never carry a child.
Her father had responded by putting a price on her.
Not because he hated her.
That would have been easier.
Richard Hayes simply considered her a financial asset that had lost its most valuable feature.
The conversation in the car still echoed in her mind.
“You're not worthless,” her father had said.
Nora had almost laughed.
“You're still attractive.”
That had been his consolation.
Her mother had made it worse.
“There are men who don't care about children.”
Now Nora sat in the basement lounge of the Continental Hotel wearing a black velvet dress she hated.
Around her, powerful men drank whiskey and discussed her future as if she were a painting.
“How much?”
“Depends on the arrangement.”
“She can't have children?”
“No.”
“Then there's no inheritance problem.”
Nora kept her face expressionless.
She had discovered something during the past five hours.
Humiliation became easier when you stopped expecting dignity from people who had none.
A man named Benny approached her first.
His left eyebrow carried a pale scar.
He smelled of garlic and expensive cologne.
“Richard says you're quiet.”
“I am.”
“I like quiet women.”
“I wasn't asking.”
His smile disappeared.
Before he could answer, a hand closed around the back of his collar.
Benny was yanked away so violently his chair scraped across the floor.
A man stepped into the space he had occupied.
Arthur Costa.
Nora recognized him immediately.
Everyone did.
The Costa organization controlled half the northern shipping routes, several construction companies, and enough politicians to make laws seem optional.
Arthur was thirty-eight.
A widower.
A father of four.
And, according to every rumor Nora had ever heard, one of the most dangerous men alive.
Yet he wasn't looking at her body.
He was looking at her eyes.
“Arthur Costa,” he said.
“I know.”
One eyebrow lifted.
“You know me?”
“Everyone knows you.”
“Most people pretend they don't.”
“I don't see the point.”
For the first time that evening, something almost resembling amusement touched his face.
He sat across from her.
“Bourbon.”
The waiter appeared.
Arthur never looked away from Nora.
“Neat.”
The waiter left.
“You're Richard Hayes's daughter.”
“Yes.”
“He told me you can't have children.”
Nora's jaw tightened.
“He told everyone.”
Arthur studied her.
“Does it bother you?”
“That strangers know?”
“That you can't have children.”
Nora looked at him for several seconds.
“No.”
It was the first honest answer she'd given all evening.
Arthur leaned back.
“Good.”
She frowned.
“Good?”
“I already have four.”
That surprised her.
Arthur continued quietly.
“Two boys. Two girls.”
Nora knew about his children, but she'd never heard him speak about them publicly.
“Then why are you here?”
Arthur's expression changed.
Something darker entered his eyes.
“Because I was asked to make an offer.”
Nora's stomach tightened.
“By my father?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Arthur ignored the question.
“Do you want to marry me?”
Nora stared at him.
That was not what she expected.
“Why?”
“Because my children need someone.”
She almost smiled bitterly.
“You're buying a nanny?”
“No.”
“A housekeeper?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Arthur leaned forward.
“A mother.”
Nora's smile vanished.
“You don't know me.”
“No.”
“You don't know if I'd be good with children.”
“I don't.”
“Then why me?”
Arthur's gaze remained steady.
“Because everyone in this room looked at you like something they could own.”
His voice lowered.
“You looked back like you wanted to burn the building down.”
Nora said nothing.
Arthur reached into his jacket and placed an envelope on the table.
She opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Four children stood beside a woman Nora immediately recognized as Arthur's late wife.
On the back were four names.
Elena.
Marco.
Sophie.
Thomas.
And beneath them, written in Arthur's handwriting:
They don't need perfection.
Nora looked up.
“What happened to their mother?”
“Three years ago, she died in a car bombing.”
“I heard.”
“She wasn't the target.”
Nora's eyes narrowed.
“Then who was?”
Arthur's face became unreadable.
“Me.”
Silence settled between them.
Outside the booth, music played softly.
Then Arthur said something that changed everything.
“I don't need a woman who can give me another heir.”
He slid the photograph toward her.
“I need someone who can teach my children that the world isn't something they should be afraid of.”
Nora looked at the four faces.
Something inside her moved.
Not love.
Not yet.
Something more dangerous.
Hope.
She closed the envelope.
“And what happens if I say no?”
Arthur answered immediately.
“Nothing.”
She blinked.
“My father owes three million dollars,” he continued. “I can settle his debt without you.”
“Then why involve me?”
“Because I don't want to rescue you.”
He leaned closer.
“I want to know whether you'll choose me.”
Nora stared at him.
For the first time that night, someone had given her a choice.
She stood.
“I'll meet your children.”
Arthur nodded.
“Tomorrow morning.”
She walked away.
Neither of them noticed the man standing behind the curtain.
Richard Hayes.
He had heard every word.
And he looked terrified.
Because Arthur Costa had not just offered to marry Nora.
May you like
He had unknowingly offered her protection from the one person she should have feared most.
Her father.
