THE HOUSEKEEPER, THE HEIRESS, AND THE WEDDING DRESS

The heavy oak doors to the dining room swung shut as the guests began to frantically murmur.

Marcus, Nico’s head of security, stepped out of the hallway shadows. He didn't look apologetic. He looked at Nico with cold indifference, his hand resting casually near the holster on his belt.

"Marcus?" Nico asked, standing up. He placed himself firmly between Ella and the rest of the room. "You gave her the key?"

"Clara's things belong to the past, Boss," Marcus said smoothly. "Sloane is the future. I was just helping smooth the transition."

I stood by the serving tray, my heart pounding against my ribs. Marcus had worked for Nico for ten years. He was the one who had hired me.

"You stole from my daughter to 'smooth the transition'?" Nico demanded, stepping toward him.

"I didn't steal it!" Sloane snapped. "Marcus gave it to me as a down payment."

"A down payment for what?" I asked, speaking before I could stop myself.

Sloane glared at me, adjusting her red satin dress. "To ensure I looked the other way when he started moving money out of Ella's trust fund."

The room erupted. Nico lunged forward, but Marcus was faster, drawing his weapon and aiming it directly at Nico’s chest.

"Nobody moves," Marcus ordered.

Ella let out a terrified sob, burying her face in my apron. I wrapped my arms around her trembling shoulders, pulling her behind me.

"You're dead, Marcus," Nico said, perfectly calm despite the gun pointed at him.

"Not if I'm not here," Marcus replied. He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and tossed it onto the table. "Sloane was supposed to keep you distracted until the wedding. But since she couldn't even handle a teenager, our timeline has moved up."

Nico looked down at the paper. It was a first-class plane ticket to Geneva, Switzerland. Departing in two hours.

But it wasn't Marcus's name on the ticket.