Chapter 1
Twelve hours before my wedding, I drove back to the Bennett estate for a coat.
That was the reason I gave myself.
A forgotten cashmere coat in the upstairs guest room. A small errand. Ten minutes, maybe fifteen, then back to my hotel before anyone noticed the bride was gone.
The Bennett estate stood above the Atlantic outside Newport, Rhode Island, all white stone, iron gates, perfect hedges, and windows glowing gold against the dark ocean.
Tomorrow, I was supposed to marry Ryan Bennett beneath a floral arch in the garden.
Tomorrow, every magazine in New England would call it the wedding of the year.
Tomorrow, I was supposed to become part of the Bennett family.
That was what Margaret Bennett kept telling me.
“Claire,” she had said earlier that night, squeezing my hand beside the rehearsal dinner fireplace, “I’ve always dreamed of having a daughter.”
She said it beautifully.
Margaret did everything beautifully.
She lied beautifully, too.
At the time, I only felt uneasy because of the updated prenuptial agreement she kept mentioning. My attorney had not approved it. The Bennetts wanted forty-one percent of Harper Logistics moved into a marital holding structure immediately after the wedding.
My company.
The company I built from one leased warehouse and three delivery vans after my father died.
Ryan said it was only paperwork.
Margaret said it proved trust.
I said no.
And for one second, Margaret’s warm smile disappeared.
May you like
Then it came back.
That was the smile I remembered when I unlocked the side entrance to the estate and walked inside.
