Nora's POV
"Ten minutes," I said, staring at my phone. "He gave me ten minutes."
Elias grabbed my wrist, his scarred fingers warm against my racing pulse. "You're not going down there alone."
"He's my father—"
"He's a man who destroyed you publicly and hunted you down when you tried to rebuild." Elias's voice was hard. "That's not a father. That's a predator."
My phone buzzed again. A text from the unknown number: Nine minutes, Nora. Don't test me.
"I have to go," I whispered. "If I don't, he'll come inside. He'll make a scene. I'll lose this job, and it's the only thing I have left."
Elias studied my face, then nodded once. "Fine. But I'm coming with you."
"He'll recognize you. Your family and his—"
"Good," Elias said coldly. "Let him know exactly who's standing with you now."
We walked to the parking lot together. My legs felt like jelly. The early morning sun was just starting to rise, painting the sky pink and orange. It should have been beautiful. Instead, it felt like walking toward an execution.
My father stood beside a black Mercedes, arms crossed, looking exactly like I remembered. Expensive suit. Cold eyes. The kind of man who could ruin lives before breakfast and not lose a minute of sleep.
Vivian was with him. Of course she was. My stepsister wore a smug smile and a designer dress that probably cost more than my entire month's rent.
"Nora." My father's voice was flat. "You look terrible."
"What do you want?" I kept my voice steady even though my hands shook.
His eyes shifted to Elias, and something dark flashed across his face. "Dr. Bennett. How interesting. My daughter moves fast."
"Your daughter," Elias said slowly, "is no longer your concern."
"She's my blood—"
"You cut her off. Publicly destroyed her. Froze her accounts. Made her homeless." Elias stepped forward, putting himself slightly in front of me. "You gave up the right to call her your daughter."
My father's jaw tightened. "Stay out of family business, Bennett."
"She's making it my business by standing with me."
Vivian laughed. It was a cruel, tinkling sound. "Oh, this is precious. The fallen princess found herself a broken prince. How romantic." She looked at me with pure hatred. "Did you tell him why Daddy really disowned you, Nora? About the job he gave you?"
My stomach dropped. "Vivian—"
"Three months ago, Daddy asked Nora to seduce Dr. Bennett here," Vivian announced, clearly enjoying herself. "Get close to him. Steal research from Bennett Medical Technologies. She was supposed to be our corporate spy." She smirked. "But little miss perfect refused. Said she had morals. So Daddy taught her what happens when you betray the family."
I waited for Elias to recoil. To look at me with disgust. To realize I'd known about my father's plan all along.
But he just stood there, unmoved. "I know."
Vivian blinked. "What?"
"I know about Richard's plan. I know he wanted Nora to spy on my family. I know she refused." Elias's voice was calm. "I also know that's why he orchestrated her public destruction—because she chose integrity over loyalty to a corrupt man."
My father's face went dark red. "How dare you—"
"How dare I what? Tell the truth?" Elias smiled, but it wasn't friendly. "You tried to weaponize your own daughter. When she refused, you destroyed her life at her engagement party, froze her accounts, made her homeless, and turned social media against her. All because she wouldn't commit corporate espionage for you."
"You have no proof—"
"I have emails," Elias said simply. "Between you and Marcus Ashford discussing how to 'handle the Nora situation' after she refused to cooperate. Marcus was very thorough in documenting your instructions. Probably keeping evidence in case you tried to throw him under the bus later."
My father went very still. "You're bluffing."
"Am I?" Elias pulled out his phone, scrolled, then turned it toward my father. "This is from four months ago. You, telling Marcus to 'make the engagement party memorable' and to 'ensure Nora understands the cost of disloyalty.'"
I couldn't breathe. Elias had evidence. Real evidence of what my father did.
"Where did you get that?" my father demanded.
"Marcus isn't as loyal as you think. When he realized the FBI was investigating Chen Pharmaceuticals for fraud, he made copies of everything—including his communications with you—as insurance." Elias's smile was sharp. "I have very good lawyers and very good connections. Getting access to Marcus's insurance files was surprisingly easy."
Vivian looked between them, her confidence cracking. "Daddy?"
My father ignored her. His eyes were locked on Elias. "What do you want?"
"Leave Nora alone," Elias said. "Stop the social media attacks. Stop sending people to photograph her. Stop trying to destroy what's left of her life. Walk away, and I won't send these emails to every news outlet in New York."
"You wouldn't—"
"Try me." Elias's voice dropped to something dangerous. "I've already lost everything once, Mr. Chen. I have nothing left to lose. You, on the other hand, have a company currently under federal investigation. These emails proving you used your daughter as a corporate weapon and then destroyed her when she refused? That would make very interesting reading for the prosecutors."
The parking lot went silent except for distant traffic.
My father stared at Elias for a long moment. Then his gaze shifted to me, and what I saw there made my blood run cold. Not love. Not regret. Just pure, cold hatred.
"You always were weak, Nora," he said quietly. "Just like your mother. She was weak too. That's why she died—too soft for this world."
Something inside me snapped.
"Don't you dare," I said, my voice shaking with rage instead of fear. "Don't you dare talk about Mom. She was the only good thing in your miserable life, and you didn't deserve her."
"Careful, daughter—"
"I'm not your daughter anymore. You said so yourself." I stepped forward, and for the first time in my life, I wasn't afraid of him. "You took everything from me. My home. My money. My reputation. My friends. You tried to take my dignity. But you know what? You actually did me a favor."
My father's eyes narrowed. "How's that?"
"Because now I see you clearly. You're not powerful. You're not strong. You're just a sad, pathetic man who uses money to control people because that's the only way anyone will stay near you." I felt tears on my cheeks but I didn't care. "Mom stayed because she loved me, not you. I stayed because I was too scared to leave. Even Veronica only stays because of the prenup. You're alone, Dad. And you always will be."
For just a second, I saw something flicker in his eyes. Pain, maybe. Or recognition.
Then it was gone, replaced by ice.
"You'll regret this," my father said. "Both of you."
"Probably," Elias agreed. "But we'll regret it together. Now get off this property before I have security remove you."
My father turned to leave, then stopped. He looked back at me one last time.
"You think you've won. You think this doctor will save you." His smile was cruel. "But mark my words, Nora. Everyone you love leaves. Your mother died. Marcus betrayed you. Even your precious Dr. Bennett here—six years ago, his fiancée died in his arms. He couldn't save her. What makes you think he'll save you?"
Then he got in his car and drove away, Vivian scrambling after him.
I stood there shaking, my father's words echoing in my head.
He couldn't save her. What makes you think he'll save you?
"Nora," Elias said softly.
I turned to him, and that's when I saw his face. All the color had drained from it. His hands were shaking—not from pain, but from something else. Something darker.
"The emails," I whispered. "Do you really have them?"
He hesitated. Just for a second. But it was enough.
"No," he admitted. "I was bluffing. Marcus probably does have insurance files, but I don't have access to them. I just—I needed to make your father back off. I needed to protect you."
"You lied to him."
"Yes." He met my eyes. "I'd lie to the devil himself if it meant keeping you safe."
I should have been grateful. He'd just faced down my father for me. Risked his own reputation. Made threats he couldn't back up.
But all I could think about was what my father said.
His fiancée died in his arms. He couldn't save her.
"Your fiancée," I said slowly. "Sarah. You said the accident was your fault. But it wasn't, was it? The other driver was drunk. You didn't kill her."
Elias's face went blank. "The drunk driver hit us. But I was the one driving. I was the one who looked away. I was the one who—" His voice cracked. "I was the one holding her when she died. I'm a surgeon, Nora. I save people for a living. But I couldn't save the one person who mattered most."
"That's not your fault—"
"Isn't it?" His eyes were haunted. "I've spent six years telling myself that. Six years of therapy and surgery and trying to fix these hands so I could save other people's loved ones since I couldn't save my own. But your father's right. I couldn't protect Sarah. What makes me think I can protect you?"
"Elias—"
"Emma almost died tonight," he said, his voice rough. "That seventeen-year-old girl. I worked for six hours, and we barely saved her. What if we hadn't? What if my hands had failed? What if—" He stopped, turning away from me. "Maybe your father's right. Maybe everyone I try to save ends up dead or destroyed."
"Stop," I said firmly. "That's not true."
"You don't know that—"
"Yes, I do." I grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at me. "Emma is alive because of you. Mrs. Rodriguez is alive because of you. How many other people have you saved in the past six years? Hundreds? Thousands?"
"That doesn't make up for Sarah—"
"Nothing makes up for Sarah," I said. "Nothing ever will. But punishing yourself forever doesn't honor her memory. It just wastes the life she would have wanted you to live."
Elias stared at me, something breaking in his eyes.
Then his phone buzzed.
He looked down at it, and his face went white.
"What?" I asked. "What is it?"
He turned the phone toward me. It was a news alert.
"Bennett Medical Technologies Announces Merger with Chen Pharmaceuticals - Deal Finalized This Morning"
I read it three times before the words made sense.
"What?" My voice came out strangled. "How is that possible? Your family would never—"
"My mother," Elias said hollowly. "She's the CEO. She has the authority to make deals without my approval." He scrolled through the article, his face getting paler with every line. "She did it. She actually sold us to Richard Chen."
"Why would she do that?"
Elias looked at me, and in his eyes, I saw the answer before he spoke it.
"Because she found out about us. About this." He gestured between us. "My mother doesn't like losing control. This is her way of punishing me—by forcing me into business with the man who destroyed you. By making sure we can never be together without our families' war tearing us apart."
My phone buzzed. Another text from my father.
Did you really think you'd escape me, Nora? I own your doctor's company now. I own him. Which means I own you. Welcome back to the family, daughter.
I looked up at Elias, horror dawning.
"He won," I whispered. "After everything, he still won."