Seven powerful heiresses competed to become his wife, but only the five-foot-four housemaid knew the real secret behind his test.

Adrian didn't flinch. He didn't shout or punch the stone wall. He simply stood completely still in the dim brass light of the desk lamp, his face hardening into carved granite.

"Grant," Adrian said into the small brass microphone on the desk, his voice completely calm. "Where are the women?"

"They are currently being escorted out to their limousines by my men," Grant’s voice crackled through the speaker. "Except for Caroline Wells. Her father offered me fifty percent of the dock revenues if I brought him the ledger tonight."

I felt the air pull right out of my lungs. "Grant was working with the Wells family all along..."

"Grant has been skimming from our shipping accounts for three years," Adrian said smoothly, turning his head toward me. "I was waiting for him to make his move. Tonight’s test wasn't just for a bride, Nora. It was a trap for my cousin."

Through the intercom, Grant chuckled darkly. "You think you're so clever, Adrian. But you're locked forty feet underground in an airtight vault. The air in that room will run out in two hours. By sunrise, I'll have the ledger, Caroline will be my bride, and I will take the seat at the head of the Commission."

"Grant," Adrian spoke into the microphone, his tone dropping an octave lower, terrifyingly soft. "Did you check the secondary release valve in the service corridor before you locked that door?"

Silence stretched over the intercom for three seconds.

"What release valve?" Grant asked, a sudden edge of hesitation creeping into his voice.

"The one Nora cleans every Tuesday morning," Adrian replied.

Adrian turned to me, his hand reaching out to grab mine. "Nora. The brass pipe behind the wine rack on the west wall. Turn it three times to the left."

I didn't hesitate. I ran across the damp brick floor to the rusted wine rack, reached behind the heavy wooden frame, found the cold iron handle of the valve, and turned it with all my strength.

LEFT. LEFT. LEFT.

A loud pneumatic hiss roared through the stone ceiling.

The heavy steel locking pins inside the vault door retracted with a thunderous BANG.