Chapter 4: The Price of Pride
The next morning, the headlines didn't mention the charity auction. They mentioned the "Grand Humiliation." Nora woke up in a suite at the Veyne Hotel, a place she had only ever heard of in rumors. Her mother was already there, moved from the cramped state hospital to the finest private care facility in California, all expenses paid by a man who had not yet even seen Nora in the daylight.
Whitney Whitmore’s life had evaporated. Her father’s company was under federal investigation for tax evasion, a detail Silas had known about but hadn't acted on until he needed to destroy them. The luxury cars, the mansion, the social standing—it was all stripped away as the creditors swarmed like vultures.
Silas entered the room, carrying a tray of breakfast. He looked different without the ballroom lights—softer, perhaps, but no less formidable. "Your mother is going to be fine," he said, setting the tray down. "She has the best surgeons in the country arriving tonight."
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"Why?" Nora asked, still clutching the oversized jacket from the night before. "I was just a stranger."
"Because you were the only thing that was real in a world of ghosts," Silas replied. He sat in the chair opposite her. "I have spent my life surrounding myself with people who want to kill me or use me. You were the only person who offered me something without asking for a return."
