MY BESTFRIEND'S BROTHER, MY RUIN

"I thought you were my savior. I didn't know you were the one who set the fire." The day the debt collectors came for my family, I couldn't even scream. My voice has always been a prisoner of my anxiety, leaving me defenseless in a world of wolves. Then came Ignatius. My brother's best friend. A man with the face of a saint and the wealth of a king.

He didn't just save me; he bought my world. He paid the debts, moved me into his palatial estate, and whispered that I was finally safe. For the first time, I felt the warmth of a "hero." I gave him my trust. I almost gave him my heart.

But a saint doesn't keep cameras in your bedroom.

The crushing realization hit harder than any blow from a collector: Ignatius didn't buy my debt-he created it. He paid the men who terrified my mother. He orchestrated the ruin of my brother. Every tear I shed was a calculated investment in my total dependence on him. He didn't want a lover; he wanted a broken pet.

Now, the "Saint" has dropped his mask. Ignatius thinks because I am mute, I am powerless. He thinks because I am fragile, I am his.

He's wrong.

If Ignatius wants to play the Predator, I'll find a bigger one. His father, Cane-the cold, ruthless patriarch of the empire-is the only man Ignatius fears. I'm moving from the guest room to the master suite. I'm going to tear this family apart from the inside out, one forbidden dinner at a time.

Ignatius ruined my life to own me. Now, I'm going to make sure the debt he owes me costs him everything.