Lucien POV
The drive to Cross Holdings is silent except for the hum of the engine.
Mara sits beside me in the backseat, staring out the window like she can be herself somewhere else. She's wearing a charcoal suit—professional, armored, ready for battle.
Smart woman.
"He's going to interrogate us." I check my watch. 9:58AM. "Probably to find inconsistencies in our stories."
"I know how interrogations work, Lucien." Her voice is flat. "I worked at a law firm, remember?"
"This isn't a deposition. This is Gregory Cross looking for weakness." I loosen my tie slightly. "He'll push. He'll prod. He'll try to make you slip."
"I won't slip."
"Good." I meet her eyes in the reflection of the window. "Because if he believes those articles—if he thinks this marriage is transactional—he'll use th
