My Husband Broke My Leg After I Caught Him With His Mistress—But He Didn’t Know My Father Was The Man Washington Feared, And The Night He Locked Me In The Dark Became The Beginning Of His Family’s Public Destruction...

Elias leaned against the window frame, studying his daughter. For twenty-one years, he had stayed away to keep her safe, honoring her mother’s dying wish. But looking at her now, he saw the undeniable fire of his own bloodline burning in her eyes.

"Public destruction is messy, Lena," Elias warned. "Men like Grant Caldwell have entire law firms dedicated to burying their mistakes. If you strike at a king, you must take his head on the first swing."

"Then I need to get back inside the castle," Lena said, her voice resolute.

Elias frowned. "You are not going back to that house."

"I have to," she insisted, pushing herself up slightly against the pillows, ignoring the throbbing in her leg. "If I stay away, they will close ranks. Grant’s father, Warren, will hire crisis managers. They’ll spin the narrative, claim I was unstable, claim I fell. I need access to Grant’s personal servers. I need his passwords, his unencrypted files, his board meeting schedules."

"I have teams of hackers who can get that."

"They don't know what to look for," Lena countered. "I designed half of his buildings. I know his investors. I know the names of the shell companies he thinks he hid from me. I have to play the part of the broken, forgiving wife."

Elias walked back to the bed. "Your mother warned me that you were too smart for a normal life. I should have listened."

"Dad," Lena said softly, the word feeling strange but necessary on her tongue. "I need you to let me do this my way. Let him think he got away with it."

Elias stared into her eyes for a long, heavy moment. He saw no fear, only absolute determination.

He pressed a button on his encrypted phone. The door to the suite opened instantly, and Marcus stepped inside.

"From this moment forward, Marcus is your shadow," Elias ordered, his tone brokering no argument. "He sleeps in the room next to yours. He drives your car. If Grant Caldwell even raises his voice within ten feet of you, Marcus has my authorization to break his jaw."