Chapter 5
Mia
My head is spinning. I keep replaying Marcus’s words, trying to make them make sense. Scam artist. Jason. Scam artist. The room feels too hot, my breath shallow.
“What do you mean he’s a scam artist?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
Marcus looks at me, serious and almost gentle, like he’s trying not to break me any more than I already am. “This is what he does, Mia. He finds wealthy women, charms them, makes them fall for him. Then he bleeds them dry and moves on. He’s done it before. Several times.”
My skin goes cold, goose bumps prickling along my arms. “You mean…he’s been married? To someone else?”
Marcus only raises a brow, not needing to say anything more.
Right. Married. To me, technically. Or at least, he almost was.
“But that didn’t happen,” I say, the old ache in my chest blooming again. I wrap my arms around myself, as if I can keep everything from spilling out.
Tyler sits forward, his eyes warm but focused. “Yeah, you didn’t go through with it. Thank God.”
I try to smile, but it doesn’t come. “No. We never made it down the aisle.”
Marcus’s voice is low. “Mia, he’s cheated women before. Stolen from them. Do you remember anything—anything strange about the way things ended with him?”
I hesitate, embarrassed, but the concern in all three of their faces convinces me. I take a deep breath and start, my words tumbling out.
“It was supposed to be a Christmas wedding. My parents went all out—flowers, orchestra, guests from all over the world. The night before, Jason was…distant. I thought it was nerves. I tried to talk to him about the prenup. My father insisted. Jason said it made him feel like I didn’t trust him, but he finally agreed to sign. At least, he said he did.”
I force myself to keep going. “The morning of the wedding, he was gone. No note. No call. I was in my dress when my mother came to tell me. He’d left, just like that.
His phone was turned off. His apartment was empty.
The only thing he left behind was a watch, one my dad gave him, actually. There was no goodbye.”
I blink back the memory, the sting still sharp after all this time. “It was humiliating. I told everyone it must have been cold feet, that he just wasn’t ready. But inside, I kept thinking it was me. That I was the problem, that I wasn’t enough.”
I meet Marcus’s gaze, tears threatening but not quite falling.
“Do you know what’s worse? A week after he disappeared, my dad’s accountant called.
Jason had tried to access one of the family accounts.
He had enough information to make a run at it, but the prenup kept everything locked down.
We never told anyone. I guess I didn’t want to believe it myself. ”
Alexander’s jaw clenches, and Tyler lets out a low whistle. Marcus’s hand comes to rest on my knee, solid and comforting.
I shake my head, shame and relief warring inside me. “I never told Sarah the truth. She was dealing with her father’s death. I didn’t want to add to her pain.”
Marcus squeezes my knee gently. “You weren’t the problem, Mia. He was. He still is.”
I want to believe him. I want to believe all of them. But for the first time, I can finally say the words out loud. I was almost a victim. And now, I won’t let Sarah become one too.
Marcus’s hand is still warm on my knee, anchoring me as everything spins. He meets my gaze and speaks quietly. “We suspect he’s trying to do this to Sarah as well. All the same patterns are there. The charm, the isolation, how quickly he moved in. He’s targeting her.”
Tyler’s face is suddenly serious. “We look out for her, Mia. Since our sister—Sarah’s mom—died, it’s always been our job to protect her. But she’s an adult now. She makes her own decisions, even if they scare us.”
Alexander’s voice cuts through, cool and steady. “But there’s something else. Sarah owns twenty-four percent of the family company. She controls several major patents too. If Jason gets access to those—if he marries her, he gets a direct line to everything our family has built.”
I sit back, stunned. I never realized just how much Sarah was inheriting, or how vulnerable that made her.
Alexander continues, “We’ve hired a private investigator, but Jason is very good at covering his tracks. The only thing that’s kept Sarah safe so far is her own stubbornness and a prenup that, so far, she refuses to sign.”
Marcus looks at me again, his eyes pleading. “We need your help, Mia. Anything you remember about Jason, any detail, could be what finally saves her.”
Tyler nods, his jaw set. “We can’t force her to see what’s really happening. But maybe you can help us find something she can’t ignore.”
I look at each of them, the fear and love in their faces making it all real. For the first time, I see just how desperate they are. Not just for answers, but for hope.
Alexander’s brow furrows as he studies me. “Wait, you said he broke things off right after you signed the prenup?”
I nod. “The same day.”
Alexander’s eyes narrow. “That might work in this case too. If we can just get Sarah to sign—”
He cuts off as a pair of laughing cousins pass by, glancing curiously in our direction.
The mood shifts; we all go quiet. Tyler stands up and gives a quick, subtle gesture, leading us away from the bustle of the dinner, down a hallway and out onto the wide stone balcony overlooking the snow-covered grounds.
The air is cold and clean, and suddenly I can breathe again.
We huddle together, breaths misting in the night air. Alexander is already thinking strategy, but I shake my head. “I don’t think just the prenup will work this time.”
Tyler looks at me, puzzled. “Why not? It stopped him before.”
I press my lips together, feeling my chest tighten. This is the first time I’ve said this out loud. “Because Jason told me…he left me for Sarah.”
The words are out, and I almost want to take them back, but the shock on their faces keeps me rooted in place.
I swallow hard, eyes on the snowy pines in the darkness below. “A few weeks after the wedding that never happened, Sarah showed up at my apartment. She was a mess. I’d never seen her so broken. She said she was sorry, that she felt guilty, that she’d done something terrible to me.”
Tyler’s brows draw together, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. Marcus and Alexander lean in, barely breathing.
“She said…she and Jason had fallen in love. That it just happened. She said it started while Jason and I were together, while we were engaged. She told me she didn’t mean for it to happen, that it was all a mistake, but she loved him.”
The words are bitter on my tongue, even after all this time. I wrap my arms around myself, remembering the cold, hollow feeling that took root in my chest that day and never quite left.
“I was so angry, but I couldn’t even say anything. She was my best friend, and I could see how much it hurt her too. I let her cry in my living room, and I just sat there, numb.”
There’s a heavy silence on the balcony. I finally meet Marcus’s eyes, then Alexander’s and Tyler’s.
“So if you’re hoping a prenup alone will scare Jason off, I don’t think it’ll work.
He’s got Sarah exactly where he wants her.
He knows how much she loves him. She’s the one who’ll fight for him, not the other way around. ”
Tyler lets out a slow breath, his expression softer than I’ve ever seen. Marcus’s jaw tightens. Alexander looks out into the snow, brow furrowed in thought.
I wait for one of them to say something that makes this less awful, but instead, they launch into strategy, their voices urgent, low, almost cold.
“That complicates everything,” Alexander mutters, running a hand through his hair. “If Sarah’s loyalty to Jason is that strong, she’ll fight any intervention.”
Marcus nods, gaze fixed on the snow. “We’ll have to find something that makes it impossible for her to ignore the truth.”
Tyler leans forward, fire in his eyes. “We need to make a spectacle. Something public. That’s the only way to break through to her.”
Their words hit me like a slap. I realize, all at once, that they’re not even looking at me anymore. I’m just the lever in their plan. My heartbreak, my history, my friendship with Sarah—all just weapons to be used.
“So what, you mean humiliate Sarah?” My voice shakes, louder than I want it to be. “Just like I was humiliated? And Jason gets away scot-free?”
Alexander turns, trying for gentle but missing the mark. “That’s not what we mean, Mia.”
But I’ve heard enough. “Sarah is my best friend. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. Not like that.”
The look on their faces is surprise, maybe even regret, but I don’t wait around for more explanations. My hands are shaking as I turn away, pushing through the heavy doors and down the empty hallway.
The inn swallows me in shadows and old memories. I move on instinct, feet carrying me to the wine cellar, a place that used to feel safe. The stone walls are cool against my palms as I descend, breathing in the earthy scent of old oak barrels and dust.
I move between the rows of bottles, trailing my fingers along the faded labels, searching for some comfort, a distraction, maybe even just a moment to catch my breath. This place was my sanctuary as a child, where I’d sneak down to imagine I was an explorer, safe from the world upstairs.
I crouch down, looking for a familiar bottle, when a sudden noise startles me. I freeze, heart thumping, listening to the faint shuffle of footsteps behind the racks.
I am not alone.