His Wives, Their Treachery, His Redemption

lled the air, exactly as he remembered. He stood before his parents, Hillard and Doris Pittman, the heads of a financial dynasty that had

the real estate magnates. One from the Petersons, who controlled the shi

ll his duty as the sole heir. He had loved the three women attached to these proposals, his childhoo

had cost him

umble of authority. "It is time. The Masons, the Peterso

of ice. He looked past his parents, his gaze fixed on

ind of social events and public smiles. It ended abruptly during a charity gala. A "robbery"

own up with. At her funeral, Jeb' s grief was so profound it eclipsed D

brought the might of the Peterson shipping empire to their union. She died during a high-sta

was the one who pulled her from the water, too late. He becam

calm, almost sterile. He had been hollowed out by then, a walking ghost in his own life. They lived

that the final, devas

tched his. Her eyes, clouded with

her voice a dry rasp. "I'm sor

aited, c

le, me... we onl

egister at first.

down her temple. "Our families would never have approved.

Pittman name, your power, as a shield. To protect

this time with a horrifying new filter. He hadn't been a husband. He had been a tool. A

character. He died an old man, alone, wi

old again, with the cold, hard knowled

uiet, but it cut through the librar

blinked. "No? Wha

her's. "I will not marry Kortney Mason. I will not marr

Donavan. These are the four ruling famil

hly. "An alliance is necessar

k on their faces. For the first time, h

asked, her voice l

he was mired in his loveless marriages, he' d paid attention to the world of finance. H

o marry A

air, foreign and mean

"From New York? The hedge

. she will become a self-made billionaire. Marrying her brings a strategic alliance with New York

ove. Just pure, calculated adva

ate daughter from a rival city? It was unthinkable. But they saw the unyield

e moment, his father gave a slow, measured nod. The Pittmans valued

to seek a New York alliance sent

inging. It was Kortney. Then Daniell

e not so eas

Cain alliance, the three of them burst into his study. They were beautifu

g?" Kortney demanded, her hands o

ice a little shaky. "We've been pl

s filled with a carefully constructed wo

saw through their performance. Their panic wasn't for him. It was for themselves. If he didn't marry

one buzzed. She glanced at

. he fell down the service st

ed concern for Donavan vanished, repla

elle cried, rushin

nnie said, already

h him, their futures, their family alliances, without a second thought. They

, a bitter, mirthless s

ngs neve

his desk and pic

he ones for the Masons, the Petersons, and the Pierces. Return

of Jeb's ankle, lightly scraped, with three perfectly manicured female hands tending to it. Th

of his past life's heart tur