Twenty minutes after Grace Bennett's thunderous declaration, I found myself standing on Fifth Avenue, watching the evening traffic blur past in streaks of white and red light. The autumn air bit through my jacket, but the cold outside couldn't match the ice forming in my chest.
Family rules. Grace's twisted version of justice that she'd used to terrorize three generations of Bennetts.
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: *Get in the black Mercedes parked across from the Starbucks. Now.*
I looked up. Sure enough, a sleek black Mercedes sat idling across the street, its tinted windows reflecting the neon glow of storefront signs.
The rear window rolled down slightly. A familiar voice called out: "Noah! Get over here!"
Liam Bennett. Grace's golden grandson and Chloe's favorite cousin.
I crossed the street, dodging a taxi that honked angrily at me. The Mercedes's passenger door swung open before I reached it.
"Get in," Liam commanded from the driver's seat.
I slid into the leather interior. The car smelled expensive. Everything the Bennetts touched smelled expensive.
"Well, well." Liam pulled into traffic without looking at me. "The great Noah Lancaster. Cheater extraordinaire."
"I didn't cheat on your cousin."
"Right. And I'm the Pope." His laugh was sharp. "You know what's funny? I actually thought you had more class than this."
"More class than what?"
"Than running around on Chloe like some common street dog."
I studied his profile in the dashboard light. Perfectly styled hair. Designer suit that probably cost more than most people's rent. Manicured nails gripping the steering wheel.
"Where are we going, Liam?"
"Where do you think? Grandmother wants to see you."
"I figured she'd cool down after I left."
Liam burst out laughing. "Cool down? Oh, Noah. You really don't understand the Bennett family at all, do you?"
The Mercedes turned onto Park Avenue, gliding past doormen and marble facades.
"Grace Bennett doesn't cool down," Liam continued. "She heats up. Like a furnace. And right now, you're the coal she's planning to burn."
"Because she thinks I cheated."
"Because you DID cheat." His voice hardened. "Chloe showed us the evidence."
"What evidence?"
"Don't play dumb. The private investigator's report. The photographs."
I turned to stare at him. "You saw photographs?"
"Grandmother did. She nearly had a heart attack looking at them."
"That's impossible."
"Why? Because you were so careful? Because you thought you'd never get caught?"
"Because they don't exist."
Liam's hands tightened on the wheel. "Are you calling my cousin a liar?"
"I'm calling her a lot of things. Liar is just the beginning."
"You piece of garbage." His voice dropped to a whisper. "After everything our family did for you."
"Like what? Like making me clean up dog shit? Like reminding me every day that I wasn't good enough?"
"Like giving you a chance! Like letting a nobody marry into one of the most powerful families in the city!"
"Letting me? I wasn't aware I needed permission to fall in love."
"Love?" Liam snorted. "Is that what you call it? Tricking an innocent girl into marrying you so you could live off her family's money?"
"Innocent girl?" I couldn't help laughing. "Chloe hasn't been innocent since she was sixteen."
"Shut your mouth."
"Ask her about Marcus Whitman. Or David Chen. Or that bartender from the Hamptons last summer."
"You're lying."
"Am I? Ask her about the abortion when she was twenty-two. Ask her about the cocaine habit she hid from Grace. Ask her about the gambling debts her father had to pay off."
Liam's face had gone pale. "Stop talking."
"Ask her about the real reason she married me, Liam. It wasn't love."
"Then what was it?"
"Desperation. She was pregnant with another man's baby and needed a husband fast."
The Mercedes swerved slightly. Liam gripped the wheel tighter.
"That's not true."
"The miscarriage three weeks after our wedding? That wasn't my baby she lost."
"You're sick."
"I'm honest. Something your family wouldn't recognize if it bit them on their perfectly sculpted asses."
We drove in silence for several blocks. The city lights painted shadows across Liam's face, making him look older than his twenty-eight years.
"Even if what you're saying is true," he said finally, "it doesn't justify what you did."
"What exactly do you think I did?"
"Cheated on her. Broke her heart. Humiliated our entire family."
"I never touched another woman."
"The photographs say otherwise."
"What photographs, Liam? Describe them to me."
He was quiet for a long moment. "I... I didn't see them personally. Grandmother did."
"Convenient."
"She described them to the family. You and some blonde woman. At the Marriott downtown."
"Interesting. And when was this supposed to have happened?"
"Yesterday afternoon. Room 1247."
My blood ran cold. That was the exact room where I'd found Chloe with Ethan Pierce.
The lying bitch had flipped the entire story.
"You know what's funny?" I said quietly.
"What?"
"I was at the Marriott yesterday. Room 1247."
Liam's eyes widened. "So you admit it?"
"I admit I was there. But not with another woman."
"Then who?"
"Your cousin. I caught her in bed with Ethan Pierce."
The Mercedes jerked to a stop at a red light. Liam turned to stare at me.
"That's impossible."
"Is it? How would I know the exact room number if I wasn't there?"
"Because... because..." He struggled for words.
"Because Chloe told me. Just like she told you. Just like she told Grace. She knows the room number because she was there. With her lover."
"No." Liam shook his head. "Chloe wouldn't do that."
"Wouldn't she? Sweet, innocent Chloe who's never lied to Grandmother?"
The light turned green. Liam didn't move.
"You're trying to confuse me."
"I'm trying to tell you the truth."
"The truth is that you cheated on my cousin!"
"The truth is that your cousin is a manipulative bitch who's been playing all of you for years."
Liam's face flushed red. "Don't you dare talk about her that way!"
"Why not? It's the truth."
"Because she's family! Because we protect each other!"
"Even when one of you is lying?"
"She's not lying!"
A car behind us honked. The light had been green for thirty seconds.
Liam pulled forward, his hands shaking on the wheel.
"Grandmother is going to destroy you," he said quietly.
"Is she?"
"The family rules aren't a joke, Noah. She's had people hospitalized."
"For what?"
"For disrespecting the family name. For betraying family trust."
"And what exactly do these family rules involve?"
Liam was quiet for a block. When he spoke, his voice was barely audible.
"Physical punishment. Public humiliation. Financial ruin."
"Sounds medieval."
"It's effective. No one crosses Grace Bennett twice."
"Maybe it's time someone did."
Liam slammed on the brakes. The Mercedes skidded to a stop on the side of Park Avenue.
"Get out."
"What?"
"Get out of my car. Walk to the estate. Think about what you've done."
"Liam—"
"GET OUT!"
I opened the door and stepped onto the sidewalk. The Mercedes peeled away, leaving me standing alone under a streetlight.
My phone buzzed again. Another text from the same unknown number: *Change of plans. Meet at the warehouse on Pier 47. One hour. Come alone.*
I stared at the message. This wasn't from Liam. His writing style was different.
A third text arrived: *P.S. - Hope you're ready to pay for what you've done to our sweet Chloe.*
My blood turned to ice. This wasn't about family rules or public humiliation.
This was about revenge.
And I was walking straight into their trap.