*Helena Harrington.*

I stared at the name, my chest tightening.

Blake reached out, his fingers hovering over the glass.

He swiped the screen, silencing the ringer, and pushed the phone face down.

The silence in my kitchen was suddenly heavy.

“Are you going to answer her?” I asked.

“No,” Blake said, his voice raw.

“She still controls you, Blake,” I said.

“She doesn’t control my relationship with my sons,” he said.

He took a step closer to me, his hand reaching out, then dropping to his side.

“Let me help you, Emma,” he pleaded.

“We don’t need your help,” I said.

“I can buy the building next to yours,” he said.

“I can set up a trust for each of them tomorrow morning.”

“Five million dollars each to start.”

“They will have the best tutors, the best schools, whatever they want.”

I looked at him, feeling a cold distance growing between us.

“You think this is a transaction,” I said.

“No,” he said, shaking his head quickly.

“It’s security, Emma.”

“I want them to be safe.”

“They are safe,” I said.