Page 8 of Lucas (The Valeur Billionaires #2)

“You’re insane. There’s no way I’m agreeing to this farce, no matter how many zeros you tack on to your bribe.”

“It’s not a bribe, it’s an incentive. And a damn generous one. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Gant has what, a hundred seventy mil in outstanding debt? Rapidly approaching the big red line of bankruptcy?”

I go rigid, ice crystallizing in my veins. “How the hell do you know that?” I whisper. “That’s privileged information, not public record.”

“I have my sources. The point is, I’m offering you a Get Out of Jail Free card. All you have to do is put a ring on it and squeeze out a few tears of joy for the camera. Nothing more.”

Fighting for composure, I dig my nails into my palms hard enough to leave crescent moons.

As much as it kills me to admit it, he’s not wrong.

Gant is hemorrhaging money at an alarming rate, and my options for a cash injection are slim to none.

No bank in their right mind would extend credit to a failing company, and seeking outside investors at this point would be tantamount to selling my soul.

“This is a lot to take in,” I hedge, hating the tremor in my voice. “I’ll need some time to think it over.”

“Of course.” He rises to his feet and walks to the door, hands tucked in the pockets of his well-tailored slacks. “Just don’t think too long. The board is eager to move forward with the announcement. And your father has already given his blessing to the match.”

I whip my head around so fast I nearly give myself whiplash. “I’m sorry, what?”

No. No way. Not even Michael Gant’s all-consuming lust for power and profit would drive him to sell his only daughter to the highest bidder. To a Valeur, no less. We may have a strained relationship, but he’s not a monster.

Is he?

Lucas pauses with his hand on the doorknob, head cocked like he’s savoring my shock. “Oh, did I forget to mention that? Silly me. Yes, Daddy Dearest agreed to our little arrangement yesterday. Said it was the answer to all his prayers.”

The blood drains from my face, and a dull roar fills my ears. He’s lying. He has to be. This is all some sick game, a twisted power move in our families’ endless tug-of-war.

But even as I try to reject the idea, the cold wash of dread in my gut tells me it’s true. My father has always put legacy before love, duty before daughterly devotion. If he thinks whoring me out to a Valeur will save his crumbling empire...

“I’ll expect your call,” Lucas says, slipping out into the night, leaving only the faint trace of his cologne and the ruins of my life in his wake.

I stand frozen in the foyer for long moments, staring at the door like it might hold the answers to how my world just got turned inside out and upside down.

Married. To Lucas Valeur. A man from a family I’ve been raised to hate, who represents everything I despise in this world—greed, arrogance, entitlement. A man who makes my skin crawl and my blood boil in equal measure.

A man who may be the only thing standing between me and utter ruination.

I can’t do this. It goes against every fiber of my being, every principle I hold dear.

But what choice do I have? The walls are closing in on all sides, the sword of Damocles hanging by a thread .

A hundred and seventy million dollars. Enough to clear our debt, to keep the wolves at bay. To save my employees from destitution.

A hundred and seventy million reasons to prostitute myself to the devil.

Oh God. I think I’m going to be sick.

Cartman chooses that moment to let out an obscene wolf whistle from the next room, followed by a maniacal cackle. “Dumb bitch! Dumb bitch!”

And really, who am I to argue with that kind of wisdom?

I fish my cell phone out of my robe pocket and pull up my father’s number before I lose my nerve. It rings once, twice...

“Ava. I assume that Valeur boy has made his pitch by now.” Father’s voice is distant, all business. As if he hasn’t just bartered his daughter away like so much chattel.

“How could you?” I rasp, hot tears spilling down my cheeks unchecked. “How could you agree to this...this insanity? Do you hate me so much?”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” he snaps, a lash of ice and disdain filling his voice. “This isn’t about you or your precious feelings. This is about survival. The company’s survival.”

“And my survival means nothing, is that it? My happiness is an acceptable sacrifice at the altar of your pride?”

“Happiness is an illusion for children and fools. You’re a Gant, for God’s sake. Act like it. You will marry the Valeur heir, and you will do it with a smile on your face.”

The unspoken threat hangs heavy between us, as cold and merciless as an executioner’s axe.

Obey or be erased.

Crude. Effective. The Gant way .

“I understand,” I say. The fire inside me banked to ashes and dust. “I’ll do as you command. As I always have.”

“That’s my girl,” he says, a triumphant sneer in his voice. “Chin up, Ava. In time, you’ll see this is for the best. There’s no profit in love, only in power. The sooner you accept that, the happier you’ll be.”

I end the call without another word, too hollowed out for goodbyes. For anything, really.

I’ve just agreed to sell myself to Lucas Valeur for a hundred and seventy million dollars and the dubious promise of my father’s approval.

A devil’s bargain, indeed.