Hawthorne''s gaze dropped to Patti Yale''s stomach. Instinctively, she shrank back.


    He caught every flicker of emotion on her face.


    "You''re pregnant. How far along are you?"


    Patti''s eyes widened in panic. How did Hawthorne know? She''d only just found out herself. She''d told James, which was the whole reason he''de up with this n in the first ce.


    "Hawthorne, I didn''t mean to deceive you. I really had no choice."<fnd5bf> Discover more novels at find?novel</fnd5bf>


    Patti was carrying James''s child. She''d originally nned to use the baby to climb higher, to secure her own ce. But James-well, he''d built his career off his wife''s family connections, and even now, his father-inw still wielded influence in Greenvale.


    James''s wife was no pushover, either. For all his affairs over the years, James had never let another woman get pregnant. He knew better than to risk it.


    Patti had seen that James could help her father, and after sleeping with him, she thought she could trade her looks and the baby for status. But James had only wanted a fling.


    He was never a good man to begin with, and he knew exactly how close Patti was to Hawthorne. He''d listened to her brag about how much Hawthorne cared for her.


    James had made a name for himself in business, but he still couldn''t outmaneuver Hawthorne.


    The Everhart family''s legacy spanned centuries-no ordinary businessman could ever shake their foundation.


    So James sent Patti to test Hawthorne, but Hawthorne saw right through them and decided to y along.


    The irony was, these two thought their little scheme was working. James actually wanted Hawthorne to be his scapegoat-to raise his child for him.


    And on top of that, he had his eyes on the Everhart fortune. With moves like these, Hawthorne couldn''t help but admire this pair of fools-they were a real piece of work.


    Did they really believe a man who ruled the business world with such ruthless precision could be so easily yed?


    "You got pregnant by James and now you want to dump the consequences on me?"


    Patti''s fatal mistake was thinking she could manipte anyone—she should have known better than to try it on him.


    Hawthorne stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, crossing his legs and looking at Patti with cool detachment.


    Patti slumped to the floor, defeated.


    She hadn''t even managed to get James''s money yet, and whatever Hawthorne had given her, she''d already spent.


    "Hawthorne, I know you cared for


    me,


    t you loved me once. I was


    theho didn''t appreciate it back


    then I see that now I''m sorry."


    s


    She tried to appeal to their past,


    hoping to move him. Hawtho


    stared at her for a moment, then suddenly gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him.  s


    "So you realize your mistake, ande back expecting me to y the fool? Patti, you have two choices."


    He wiped his fingertips with a tissue, as if her touch had left a stain. His eyes glittered coldly.


    Only then did Patti realize the man before her was nothing like the lovesick fool she''d imagined she could control.


    When he was silent, he was like a proud eagle; when he spread his wings, he was a demon-able to destroy his enemies in an instant.


    Patti stared up at Hawthorne, and the man reflected in her eyes was a stranger. She felt like she''d never known him at all.


    She''d once heard stories about


    Hawthorne-how he could destroy a person without ever getting his hands dirty She''d brushed them off as exaggerations never believing the warnings.  s


    Now she understood just what kind of danger she was facing.


    "W-what choices?" she stammered.


    Patti was trembling, huddled at Hawthorne''s feet like amb awaiting ughter.


    "One: you pay back every cent you''ve spent-down to thest dor. Two: you work with me."


    Patti recoiled from both options.


    "Hawthorne, please I''m begging you. If I betray James, he''ll have me killed."