Sharona blinked, processing. "So I get everything?"

"Yes," he said, smiling lazily. "If he dies... and you’ve been married to him for ten years."

Her jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"Yup," Raphael said simply.

Sharona leaned back, arms crossing beneath her breasts. "Ten years? Nothing sooner?"

Raphael shrugged. "Do you plan on having a child for him?"

She barked out a dry laugh. "Uh, I don’t think he plans on having a child with me either. Hell, I don’t even think he plans on having sex with me ever again."

Raphael’s grin widened. "Cold bed, huh?"

"Freezing," Sharona said. "He barely looks at me. And I had to leave the house today back to my apartment."

"So," Raphael said. "The deal still stands? I get you information, I get twenty percent?"

"We are going to be stupidly rich, Raphael. Stupidly," Sharona said, letting the word roll around her mouth. She loved the sound of it — the way stupidly made everything feel childish and decadent at once.

In her head she was already inventorying yachts, penthouses, a weekend house with a private vineyard.

Raphael watched her, an amused, calculating smile on his face. "And Tom?" he asked carefully.

Sharona rolled her eyes in a practiced, dismissive way. "That money is mine," she said softly, dangerously. "Tom did his job. If he makes a fuss, I will destroy him." She said it without theatrics — calm, cold, and absolute.

"I just have to figure out a way to stay married to Winn long enough to... generate a child."

"He wants a divorce?" he asked, already plotting the angles in his head — the lawyers, the press, the possible leaks.

"Effective immediately," Sharona said. "We have the standard month before we can apply. That gives me time."

Raphael leaned back, studying her. "Okay. Be careful sidelining Tom though. He’s got teeth. Dangerous in ways you don’t want to underestimate."

"And I am a dangerous woman, Raphael." Sharona smiled, slow, a smile that showed she knew how to walk the knife-edge between charm and threat. "Let him underestimate me. People make that mistake all the time."

She stood, smoothing her dress. "Keep your ear to the ground." she added as she started to leave.

*****

Sylvia had been up most of the night, the house too quiet. Winn hadn’t come back home last night. She called Joey countless times to find out if he had seen Winn. Joey finally answered her at dawn. "He’s fine," Joey said.

"We’re taking the week at the Orchard mansion. He said don’t worry."

She had to get Reese out of the way. She needed space, an excuse to move without an extra pair of observant eyes.

She slipped out in her pyjamas, hair a messy crown. The gate guard looked up when she walked up to him. "Miss Kane," he said, eyeing her sleep-tousled hair.

"Where’s Reese?" she asked.

He checked his notebook, lips pursed. "Spent the night in one of the guest rooms in the staff quarters, ma’am."

"Thank you," she said. The guard tipped his cap and returned to his post, leaving her alone on the path with her thoughts.

She smiled — practical, slightly vicious, delighting in the theatricality of it all. If she had to manipulate the day to get a few hours alone, she’d do it. After all, being a Kane meant you learned young how to sculpt reality into what you needed.

Sylvia walked briskly toward the staff quarters.

She reached the building behind the main house and paused in front of the second door on the left. Her knuckles hovered for a second before she forced them to knock.

Moments later, the door swung open, and Reese appeared — sleepy, shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts that clung low on his hips. He blinked at her in mild surprise, then rubbed his hand over his jaw.

"Miss Kane," he said. "Are you going somewhere this morning?"

He turned briefly, stepping into the room, giving her a half-second’s view of rumpled sheets. She watched his back flex as he picked up a shirt from the chair and pulled it over his head.

She cleared her throat. "Um, no," she said. "Actually, my brother needs you today."

Reese frowned, brows furrowing as he straightened the hem of his shirt. "Oh? He didn’t call me."

Sylvia held his gaze, eyes steady despite the sudden flutter beneath her ribs. "His phone is still with me, remember?" she said.

"Joey called. They’re at the Orchard mansion — both of them a bit tipsy. They can’t drive themselves. They were up all night." She hesitated, just long enough to make it believable. "Winn wants you to bring him his phone."

It was a beautiful lie.

Reese nodded slowly, running a hand through his hair, still half-asleep but already sliding into duty mode. "Right," he said finally. "Okay. I’ll get dressed and head over there."

Sylvia extended the phone to him, fingers brushing his for the briefest second before she turned to leave. She swallowed hard and forced herself to keep moving, pretending her pulse wasn’t sprinting ahead of her.

Still, curiosity got the better of her, and she snuck one last look over her shoulder. He was watching her — of course he was.

"Don’t look back, idiot," she muttered under her breath.

By the time she reached the bathroom, her hands were trembling. A quick shower helped.

She towel-dried her hair and stared at her reflection. "Formal casual," she whispered to herself, opening the closet.

The result was a soft white blouse tucked into navy trousers. She dabbed on a bit of lipstick and slipped into flats, the only footwear that would allow her a quiet escape.

She left the house, heart thumping. Freedom — or at least the illusion of it — waited just beyond the gate.

Just as she was about to take that last step, a shadow shifted near the guard station.

"Going somewhere, Miss Kane?"

Sylvia froze. Reese stepped into the light — tall, broad, infuriatingly observant.

"Uh...uh...well...just, um, taking a stroll."

"I’ll walk behind you then," he said, straight-faced.

(This bonus Chapter is courtesy of MissDionne. Thank you very much)