Three hundred people watched the man slap Meredith Quinn across the face, but the most terrifying sound that night was not the crack of his hand against her skin. It was the silence afterward.

Twenty minutes later, a convoy of four armored black SUVs tore through the rainy streets of downtown Chicago, heading north.

Inside the lead vehicle, Meredith sat wrapped in August’s heavy wool coat. The heater was blasting, but she couldn't stop shaking. August sat beside her, holding her left hand tightly in both of his, refusing to let go for even a second.

“We need to stop at North Mercy Hospital first,” Meredith said, her voice strained.

“Leo already has six men at the hospital, Meredith,” August assured her gently. “Grace is safe. The moment the ballroom doors were locked, my team secured her floor. Nobody gets within fifty feet of her room without my personal clearance.”

Meredith let out a long breath, leaning her head against August’s shoulder. “Ridge knew about Grace, didn't he?”

August’s jaw tightened. “He knew you had a sister in the hospital. He didn't know who she was to me. He thought he was using a vulnerable employee to create a public scene that would make me look unstable before the city council vote on the port expansion.”

“He hit me because I refused to drop his drink tray on purpose,” Meredith whispered. “He tried to make it look like I was clumsy so he could demand the manager fire me on the spot. He wanted to see if I’d beg.”

August’s knuckles turned white where he held her hand. “He will pay for every second of pain he caused you. I promise you that.”

The SUV pulled into the subterranean garage of a secure high-rise complex in Gold Coast—August’s private penthouse, a place Meredith had only visited three times in their two years of marriage.

As they stepped out of the elevator into the private foyer, Meredith looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her gray janitor uniform was stained, her hair was disheveled, and her lip was swollen. Yet, beside her stood one of the wealthiest men in the country, looking at her as if she were the only thing that mattered in the universe.

“You ruined your buyout,” Meredith said softly as August helped her off with his coat. “The city council meeting is tomorrow at nine AM. If Ridge leaks that you assaulted him in a public ballroom, they’ll vote against giving Vale Enterprises the port lease.”

August cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs gently smoothing over her cheekbones. “Let them take the port, Meredith. Let them take the whole city. If I can't protect my wife, none of it means anything.”

Before she could answer, his phone rang. It was Leo.

August put it on speaker. “Speak.”

“Boss, we have a situation at North Mercy,” Leo’s voice came through, fast and tense. “Ridge’s men just tried to file an emergency court order to transfer Grace to a private facility out of state, claiming her guardian is involved in a criminal investigation.”