Chapter 1Kicking Them Off the Ladder

When I was fifteen, I got lost exploring the wilderness and almost met a terrible end, only to be saved by three rough-looking men. Their faces, strikingly similar to the one that haunted my dreams – a seven-tenths resemblance to my moonlit memory – captivated me instantly. My father, at my insistence, brought them back to the Thorne estate as my personal kept men.

But over the years, their arrogance grew with my indulgence. They even secretly pledged their lives to Brittany Miller, our housekeeper's daughter, right under my nose.

"Hold on, Brit, just you wait. Once that old man kicks the bucket, the entire Thorne Corporation will be ours. Scarlett Thorne is crazy about me, we’ll just sell her off to some shady establishment where she'd make a good sum, if she didn't mind the clientele."

Later, at the auction gala, one of them, Ryder, asked me what the mysterious item for today's auction was. I didn’t answer. The three of them were about to scold me when suddenly, they were leashed, thrown into a dog kennel, and locked up.

I smiled. "The auction item? Isn't it right here?"