rough the floorboards of the Hamptons estate
e dress. She looked exactly as Corinne Hogan intended: like a faded shadow. B
he wore a custom-made silver gown that caught every flash of the photographers' came
n hand, loudly boasting about her daughter's perfect match. Every so
, rectangular device hidden inside her clu
ceremonies tapped his microphone. A sh
beautiful union of Sloane and Julian, the families have prepared a short video
oom dimmed. The crowd m
r. She pressed it. A silent pulse of interf
lars in cash to swap the AV technician's USB drive with her own. Now, h
reens on the walls
tic montage. There
ad angle of a hotel bed. The audio kicked i
s were tangled in her hair. Their dirty talk echoed through the st
ballroom was dead silent. The
the ex
ering of dropped champagne gl
r looking like a corpse. She stared at the screen, her mouth opening in a
face ashen. He looked like h
ple. Corinne swayed on her feet, grabbing a cocktail table to keep from c
yboard, but Aspen's malicious code had locke
ike a strobe light. The
olute chaos, A
ectly crafted devastation. She forced her breathing to
staff. She picked up the spare microphone from the podi
cutting through the noise. She looked at the crowd, her eyes wide and shining with unshed te
rs turned into a roar. Former fiancée?
rd from the podium. The screens went black. The
ance and Corinne. They look
thout the mic. "The Fitzpatrick family will cancel the merger
plunging directly into
tening her spine. The fragile vic
ront row of reporters to hear. "I, Aspen Hogan, will take Sloane's place. I wi
ificing herself to the crippled heir to save the f
to Vance. She leaned in, her lips inches from
a price. The fifteen million dollar dowry investment meant for Sloane? It go
irl he had ignored for years, finally seeing
lack Maybach sat idling. Inside, Deron Fitzpatrick watched the
his lips. His finger sto
e murmured int
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