Chapter 6 - The Shadows Strike BackChicago’s society columns didn't just lose their minds—they exploded.
By sunrise the next morning, every major newspaper, digital news site, and gossip blog from the Gold Coast to the Loop featured the same headline across their front pages: HOSTILE TAKEOVER: Corporate Titan Ronan Callahan Marries His Son’s Ex-Girlfriend in Secret Ceremony.
Photos of me stepping out of Ronan’s Maybach in a bespoke white Dior suit beside him flashed across television screens in every coffee shop and office lobby in the city. Public opinion was sharply divided: half the city thought I was a brilliant, ruthless mastermind who had played the ultimate long con, while the other half whispered dark, sensationalized rumors about the underworld ties of the Callahan family.
I didn't care about the gossip. I cared about the numbers, the contracts, and the security reports piling up on my desk.
Which was why, at 9:00 PM on a rainy Thursday night, I was still working in the home office of Ronan’s penthouse while Ronan was downstairs meeting with our chief of security regarding an uptick in suspicious activity around our municipal shipping docks.
My phone buzzed on the mahogany desk.
An unknown number. No caller ID.
I frowned, swiping to answer. “Hello?”
“You think you’re untouchable now, don't you?” a voice hissed through the speaker—distorted, digitized, but dripping with venom.
I froze. “Who is this?”
“You ruined Finn’s life, you took everything he was supposed to inherit, and you think old man Callahan is going to protect you forever? Men like Ronan don't love, Lara. They consume. And when he’s done using you to destroy his rivals, he’ll throw you away just like Finn did.”
“If you have something to say to me, come say it to my face instead of hiding behind a burner phone,” I retorted, my voice steady and cold. “Or better yet, talk to my husband. I’m sure he’d love to introduce you to Thomas.”
A harsh, ugly laugh rattled the earpiece. “Enjoy your little fairy tale while it lasts, Mrs. Callahan. The wedding cake is going to taste a lot sweeter when it’s covered in ash.”
The line went dead with a sharp click.
Before I could even set the phone down, the office door flew open. Ronan stood in the doorway, his black jacket missing, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows, his face carved from cold, lethal granite.
He had heard every word.
“Who was it?” Ronan asked, his voice dropping into that terrifying, quiet register that meant someone was about to die.
“A burner phone,” I said, standing up from my desk. “Someone who’s very unhappy about the Sterling Group buyout. Or... someone closer to home.”
Ronan crossed the room in two strides, pulling me into his arms and holding me so tightly I could hear the fierce, rapid beat of his heart against my ribs.
May you like
“Nobody touches you,” he whispered fiercely against my hair. “I built this city from the dirt up, Lara. If anyone thinks they can lay a finger on my wife, I will tear their world down to the foundation.”
“I know,” I murmured, resting my head against his shoulder. “That’s why I’m not scared.”
