The room reeked of old money and older secrets. Talia Voss adjusted the thin silk strap of her dress as she stepped into the private auction hall, where everything and everyone had a price. Her heels clicked like threats across the marble floor. Heads turned. Men stared.
Let them.
She was used to being watched. Desired. Envied. Dismissed. After all, she was the daughter of Richard Voss, the man who once sat at the top of New York's corporate food chain… until his empire crumbled under scandal, lawsuits, and silent investors pulling out like knives in the dark.
That empire, what was left of it, was being auctioned tonight. And with it, every last piece of her freedom.
Talia held her head high. Her father's sins weren't hers, even if the vultures circling this room didn't care. They only saw what the media painted: a spoiled heiress, a failed company, and a desperate family selling off its legacy brick by bloodstained brick.
She swallowed hard. This wasn't just about saving face. This was about survival.
The lights dimmed as the auctioneer stepped onto the platform.
"Lot No. 7," he announced. "Voss International Holdings. A rare acquisition opportunity 34% stake, majority vote pending board restructure…"
Talia's heart skipped. That stake was everything. If the right investor took it, if she could convince him to keep her as acting COO she might be able to rebuild. Her eyes scanned the room for familiar faces. Wall Street devils, old friends turned enemies, men who'd once begged her for attention now whispering behind raised flutes of champagne.
Then the air shifted.
She felt it before she saw him. A subtle crackle, like lightning behind storm clouds. The hairs on her arms rose. Her breath caught.
And then… there he was, Kian Donovan.
Her past walked in like it owned the future. Black suit. No tie. That dangerous, slow confidence that made every molecule in the room lean toward him involuntarily.
He looked richer. Sharper. Harder. His jaw was shadowed with stubble, his gaze glacial as he locked eyes with her. Time stopped. Her mouth went dry.
Six years she hadn't seen him since the night it all went to hell.
Since he disappeared.
Since she betrayed him, and now he was here. At her auction.
Oh, no. The auctioneer's voice pierced the tension.
"Opening bid: Two million dollars."
Kian didn't raise a paddle. He raised a hand. "Five."
Gasps echoed.
Talia's chest tightened.
Another bidder countered. "Six."
Kian's voice, like velvet dipped in acid: "Ten."
Ten million.
For the company — for her.
She knew then that this wasn't business.
This was war, and Kian Donovan just bought the battlefield. He won the bid without blinking. Silence fell as his name was confirmed. Voss International, the company he'd once helped her father build was now his. The same man her father destroyed. The same man she left in the rain, shattered.
Talia turned to flee the room, rage and shame churning in her gut, but he was already there, blocking her exit. His hand caught her wrist.
"Leaving so soon?" he murmured, leaning down until his mouth brushed her ear. "But we haven't even said hello."
Her skin erupted with heat. Every nerve screamed. "Let go of me."
He smiled darkly
"Not a chance, princess. I just bought you back."