Chapter 1
Gavin Kingsley personally sent me, Sloane Mercer, to the Blackridge compound, where I endured 3 years of torture.
Three years earlier, as he prepared to marry Vivian Reed, someone sent him a recorder.
The moment he pressed Play, a woman shrieked in what was supposed to be my voice.
"Gavin belongs to me! If he dares marry that Reed woman, I swear I'll kill her!"
Everyone in Port Azure knew I was the weapon he'd found in the slums and forged with his own hands.
I'd torched a private jet, rammed the wedding limousine, and even held a gun to my own head to stop his marriage alliance.
So when he heard the recording, it never occurred to him that the voice was someone else's.
Even after learning it had all been a misunderstanding, he never ended the punishment. Not once in 3 years.
Gavin crouched and stroked my cheek.
"Sloane, threats don't work on me. They never have. And with that temper of yours, you would've hurt Vivian sooner or later. A little time here to straighten you out couldn't hurt. Let's go home."
Years in that hell had ground me down to nothing.
Looking at the face I'd once loved, I laughed, too exhausted to cry.
"Outside on the left is your biggest casino. Dare to play with me?
"If I win, Gavin, you set me free."
I paused and slowly pressed a finger to my chest.
"If I lose, my life is yours. Either way, we're even!"
Gavin narrowed his eyes before giving a cool nod.
"Also, whatever happens, do not lay a finger on Vivian."
Pain lanced through my heart. I swallowed it, hauled myself upright, and headed for the casino.
We took a private VIP gaming room.
Gavin and I sat across from each other.
One hand of Texas Hold'em would decide my fate.
I'd spent 3 years working as a dealer at Blackridge, honing my skills day and night until I could read a table better than anyone.
I knew I would win.
And I did.
Gavin glanced at the final two cards I laid down and scoffed, "I underestimated you."
I held his gaze.
"A bet's a bet. Let me go."
His answer was a sharp blow to the back of my neck.
His faintly amused face swam before my eyes, and then everything went black.
When I woke again, I was back at the Kingsley estate in Port Azure.
Gavin sat on the edge of the bed in my old room.
"I raised you for 10 years. Giving me 3 more days isn't too much to ask, is it?"
He leaned closer, his dark gaze pinning me in place.
"I've chartered an entire yacht for your birthday tonight. Everyone who matters in Port Azure will be there. Do this for me, Sloane."
My heart clenched so hard I could barely breathe.
After a long silence, I nodded.
'Fine. I'll treat these 3 days as repayment for the decade he spent raising me. Once they're over, I won't owe him anything.'
That evening, I stepped aboard the brilliantly lit yacht in Azure Harbor, wearing a couture gown and stilettos.
Vivian stood in a white dress with one hand looped through Gavin's arm, smiling as she chatted with the guests.
Despite myself, my eyes stung.
I'd seen a preview of that dress in a magazine 3 years ago and fallen in love with it.
It was still being sewn by hand when Gavin promised he would buy it for me, no matter what it took.
Now Vivian was wearing it.
When she saw me approaching, Vivian came over with an affectionate smile.
"Sloane, you're here! I have a birthday present for you. Come on. I'll show you."
