Chapter 20

Maya’s POV

I sat across from him in his spacious office, my heart pounding as I clutched the sealed envelope on my lap. Elias Hart, magnate of Kingston’s most formidable corporation, gazed at me with that signature half-smirk and narrowed eyes. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him, casting angular shadows across his polished mahogany desk.

“Adrian Brooks divorced me secretly, for no apparent reason,” I began, my voice steady even though my pulse raced. “He took all my money and everything I was supposed to inherit. That’s why I’m here, Mr. Elias Hart—because I need you.”

He studied me in silence for several seconds, his eyes flicking from my face to the envelope I held so tightly. Finally, he raised an eyebrow.

“You need me?” he asked, each word measured.