Damien Calloway stared at the empty doorway where Isla had stood moments before. His jaw clenched as he grabbed his phone and dialed his head of security.
"Find her. Now."
He ended the call and stormed into his bedroom, yanking open his closet doors. As he dressed in his signature black suit, his mind raced through what had happened.
One day he was running Calloway Industries as usual. The next, he woke up married to a woman he barely knew. A smart, beautiful woman who now held legal rights to half of everything he owned.
"This isn't a coincidence," he muttered, sliding his arms into his suit jacket.
Damien checked his reflection in the mirror. Dark circles rimmed his eyes from a sleepless night. He had woken several times, startled to find Isla sleeping beside him. Each time, he'd watched her, trying to figure out if she was truly as confused as she claimed.
His phone buzzed with a text from Victoria: Let her run. She'll be back.
Damien frowned. Victoria seemed too calm about all this. Too prepared. And that bothered him more than anything else.
He grabbed his keys and headed for the door. If Isla thought she could escape this mess without him, she was wrong. They were in this together, whether they liked it or not.
Isla's hands shook as she drove through the city streets. Julian wasn't answering her calls now, and her mother's phone went straight to voicemail. Even Serena – who had apparently witnessed this fake marriage – wasn't picking up.
"Focus," she told herself, turning toward her apartment building. She needed clothes, her laptop, and time to think.
When she pulled into the parking garage, the attendant smiled at her. "Good morning, Mrs. Calloway! Haven't seen you here in days."
Isla's stomach dropped. "What did you call me?"
"Mrs. Calloway? That's your name now, right? It was all over the news."
Isla forced a tight smile and drove past him. This was worse than she thought. Everyone believed the lie already.
When she reached her floor and tried to unlock her apartment door, her key didn't work. She tried again, growing more frustrated with each attempt.
"Ms. Bennett?"
Isla turned to see her neighbor, Mrs. Lin, watching her with concern.
"Is everything okay? I thought you moved out yesterday. The landlord's workers packed everything up."
"Moved out?" Isla repeated, her voice hollow.
"Yes, to your husband's place. Such a handsome man, that Mr. Calloway. The movers were very careful with your things."
Damien hadn't been lying. Her apartment was gone.
Back at Calloway Tower, Damien sat in his office, staring at the file his assistant had just handed him. It contained everything about Isla Bennett.
Harvard Law, top of her class. Rising star at Mercer & Hayes Law Firm. Daughter of retired Judge Bennett. Engaged to Julian Mercer, founding partner at her firm.
Engaged. The word made Damien's blood boil for reasons he couldn't explain.
A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in."
His assistant entered with a woman he recognized immediately – Serena Hayes, Isla's best friend and the second witness on their marriage license.
"Ms. Hayes insists on seeing you, sir."
Damien stood. "Leave us."
Once they were alone, Serena spoke first. "Where is Isla?"
"I was hoping you could tell me," Damien replied coolly. "Since you were at our wedding."
Serena's face paled. "I don't remember any wedding."
Damien paused, studying her. Either she was an excellent actress, or she was telling the truth.
"You signed as witness on our marriage certificate."
"I know," Serena whispered. "I saw my signature, but I have no memory of signing it. The last thing I remember is having drinks with Isla three nights ago. Then I woke up the next morning with a gap in my memory."
A chill ran down Damien's spine. "Just like us."
His phone rang – his head of security.
"We found her, sir. She tried to go to her apartment, then her office. She's heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge now."
Damien grabbed his jacket. "I need to go."
"I'm coming with you," Serena insisted. "She's my best friend."
"Fine. But I have questions for you."
In the elevator, Damien studied Serena carefully. "You really don't remember anything?"
"Nothing. Just like Isla told me you don't remember either." Serena crossed her arms. "What's going on, Calloway?"
"I don't know. But someone wanted me married to Isla badly enough to drug three people and create fake evidence."
"Four," Serena corrected. "Julian doesn't remember anything either."
Damien's eyes narrowed. "You've spoken with Mercer?"
"He's my law partner. And he's devastated that his fiancée suddenly married you."
The elevator doors opened to the parking garage. Damien led Serena to his sleek black Aston Martin.
"Someone's playing a very dangerous game," Damien said as he started the engine. "And I intend to find out who."
Isla sat on a bench overlooking the San Francisco Bay, trying to calm her racing thoughts. Her phone had died an hour ago after constant calls from reporters. Without her apartment, without her fiancé answering, she felt completely alone.
"Beautiful view, isn't it?"
The voice made her jump. She turned to find Cassian Wolfe standing behind her, his silver hair gleaming in the sunlight. Damien's greatest business rival looked perfectly at ease in his tailored gray suit.
"Mr. Wolfe," Isla said cautiously, remembering he had called Damien earlier.
"Please, call me Cassian." He sat beside her. "Quite the situation you've found yourself in, Isla. Married to Calloway without even a first date."
"How did you know where to find me?"
Cassian smiled. "I make it my business to know everything about Damien Calloway. And now, by extension, you."
Isla shivered despite the warm day. "What do you want?"
"To offer you a way out." He slid a business card toward her. "I have evidence that might help prove this marriage was fraudulent."
Isla's eyes widened. "What kind of evidence?"
"Let's just say Victoria Calloway isn't as careful as she thinks." He stood, straightening his jacket. "Call me when you're ready to take down your new husband."
As Cassian walked away, a black Aston Martin screeched into the parking lot. Damien emerged, his face thunderous as he spotted Cassian. Behind him came Serena, looking worried.
Isla watched as Damien stalked toward her, his eyes locked on Cassian's retreating figure.
"What did he want?" Damien demanded when he reached her.
"A way out of this marriage," Isla answered honestly.
Damien's blue eyes flashed with anger. "And you believe him?"
"I don't know what to believe anymore," Isla snapped, standing to face him. "My apartment is gone. My fiancé won't answer my calls. And everywhere I go, people call me Mrs. Calloway!"
Serena rushed over and pulled Isla into a hug. "I've been so worried."
"Did you really witness our wedding?" Isla asked, pulling back to search her friend's face.
"Apparently. But I don't remember it either," Serena admitted. "Someone drugged all of us."
Damien's phone buzzed with a text. His face darkened as he read it.
"What is it?" Isla asked.
"Victoria. She says we need to get back to the penthouse immediately." He looked up, his expression grim. "Someone sent her photos of you and me from three months ago."
"That's impossible," Isla insisted.
"She sent me one. Look." He held out his phone.
The photo showed Isla and Damien at what appeared to be a private dinner. She was laughing, looking at him with obvious affection. His hand covered hers on the table.
"This never happened," Isla whispered.
"According to the date stamp, it was three months ago. The night I supposedly proposed."
"But how—" Isla began when Serena suddenly gasped.
"Your wine glass," Serena pointed at the photo. "Look at your hand."
Isla peered closer and felt her blood freeze. On her finger was a distinctive emerald ring – her grandmother's ring that had been stolen from her apartment three months ago during a break-in.
"That's my grandmother's ring," she whispered. "It was stolen..."
"Three months ago," Damien finished, his eyes meeting hers. "Right when these photos started appearing."
Serena looked between them. "This is bigger than a fake marriage. Someone's been planning this for months."
As they stood there, trying to process this new information, Isla's phone suddenly came back to life in her purse – someone had remotely turned it on. A text message appeared from an unknown number:
Mrs. Calloway, your marriage is very real. And if you try to end it, everyone you love will suffer. Starting with Julian Mercer.
The message included a photo – Julian tied to a chair, blood running down his face, his eyes wide with terror.