The Secret

by Stella Gray

  It wasn’t a great feeling to realize that all these months I had been manipulated by both sides—and kept completely in the dark. But now everything was finally coming to light.

  “But there isn’t any evidence,” I said. “This is all your father’s doing. Not yours.”

  * * *

  I should have known that Gavin was keeping something from me—especially after everything that had happened that night at the club. No wonder he’d tried to convince me that Stefan was the one responsible for drugging me. He’d been trying to turn me against my own husband. It was a lot to take in. I understood Gavin’s motivations, but I still felt betrayed.

  Stefan continued, “Now that I’ve proven myself, I can use Gavin to pass critical proof against my father to the feds. It’s all coming together.”

  All this new information was a shock, but I was thrilled that my husband trusted me enough to bring me on board.

  “So what happens next?” I said.

  He looked at me, and I could see the emotions warring in his eyes. “I’ve been thinking about your request. And I hate the idea of putting you in danger. But you’re right—you’re a valuable asset. So…I’ve found a way you can help me bring down KZM.”

  “Tell me. I’ll do anything,” I said.

  “I’ve already arranged everything with Gavin. He and I met on the UChicago campus today, in plain sight of plenty of witnesses. We discussed how the situation would work, but mostly we made it look like I was a jealous husband confronting him about his interest in you. We made a big scene, and I threatened him. I said I’d kill him if he ever touched you again.”

  “I bet Gavin didn’t like that,” I said. Even knowing it had been staged, I was a little turned on. I loved it when Stefan was possessive.

  Stefan laughed. “He actually let me give him a black eye.” He held up his hand, still curved in a fist. “Just to make sure it all looked real.”

  I took Stefan’s hand and kissed his knuckles.

  “But that was a one-time deal. I can’t be seen in public with him again,” Stefan told me. “And that means I can’t hand over any documents to him without it looking suspicious. That will have to be your job. Anything I get that will be of use to the feds will have to go through the two of you. You’ll have to pretend you’re exchanging class notes.”

  “Of course.” I nodded eagerly. “I can do that. I’m grateful to be able to help.”

  He reached up to take my face in his hands, and he kissed me softly.

  “Thank you.”

  Then he kissed me again, deeper this time, until I was almost out of breath.

  “There’s something else,” he said, looking into my eyes. “I owe you an apology, Tori. I’m sorry I kept in you in the dark for so long about your security. Everyone in your life has been keeping things from you, and I don’t want to be that man anymore. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. I’m only going to be honest going forward. Because I love you.”

  “I love you too,” I told him before kissing him again.

  But before we could take it anything further, he pulled away and stood, tugging me to my feet. Then he led me across the living room and through the foyer, to the front door.

  “I need you to meet someone,” he said.

  He opened the door. There was huge man standing out there, with the bearing and crewcut of an ex-military soldier, waiting patiently in the hall with his massive arms clasped behind his back. He nodded at me. I could see he was chewing gum.

  “This is Bruce,” Stefan said. “He’s your new bodyguard. He’ll be with you at all times, prominently visible. Even when you’re at school.”

  “Okay,” I said to Stefan, and then I held out my hand to Bruce. “Hi. I’m Tori.”

  The man shook my hand, firmly but gently. “Good to meet you, Tori,” he said. I’d been intimidated at first, but when he flashed me a small smile, I smiled back. I liked him.

  “He’ll be with you even when you’re with Gavin,” Stefan went on. “So if my father has anyone watching, he’ll believe there’s no way you could be saying anything you shouldn’t. My father is well aware that Bruce works for me, and he’d never think that he or I would betray him.

  “It’s important that we make a big show of the fact that I’m watching you. My father’s more inclined to trust me if he knows I’m keeping an eye on you 24/7.”

  “I understand,” I said. “So he’ll be standing outside the door all night, too?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Bruce said. “Barring short breaks, as needed.”

  Stefan nodded at Bruce, who gave him a brief nod in return, and then Stefan and I went back into the condo together. We sat down on the couch, and Stefan took my hand.

  “There’s one more thing,” he said. “Even with the cover I’ve set in place, we have no chance of making this work unless you can convince my father that you’ve accepted the situation. So you’re going to have to pretend that you’re on board with the business, or at the very least, that you’re not concerned with what my father and I do behind the scenes.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?” I asked, my heart beating faster now.

  “We’ll figure something out,” Stefan said. “But this is vital. Otherwise, he’ll be watching everything we do with a magnifying glass, and we won’t get away with anything. We won’t be able to see this through.”

  I put my hand on his arm. “We may not, regardless,” I said. “But we have to try.”

  Tori

  Chapter 30

  My hand was tight on Stefan’s knee as we sat in the back of the Town Car on our way to Konstantin’s penthouse. My father-in-law had invited us over for Sunday dinner with the stated intent to discuss my role in the family. The timing was almost too good to be true—Stefan and I knew we wouldn’t get a more perfect opportunity to put our plan into action and convince my father-in-law that I didn’t care what he or KZ Modeling did behind the scenes.

  But I was going to have to act my ass off convincing Konstantin that I wasn’t completely disgusted by what he and his company did to women. Stefan’s years of hard work depended on me pulling it off. It was the only way we’d have a chance in hell of taking KZM down.

  Luckily, I’d had days to prepare.

  Stefan and I had practiced endlessly for what I’d be up against when I spoke with Konstantin. I knew exactly what I would need to say to convince him that I was a team player.

  As I’d dressed for dinner that night, I was so nervous I could barely put on my dress, my hands were shaking so badly. As he zipped me up, Stefan had kissed the back of my neck, making me shiver.

  “You’re going to do great,” he had said. “My father’s ego is so big, he’s going to eat up every word you say like candy.”

  “I know,” I said. “I’m just nervous.”

  “I’ll be by your side the whole time,” he reassured me.

  I nodded, trying to take a few deep breaths. Then I looked myself over in the mirror for a final once-over. I’d chosen to wear something simple and demure. A modest black dress that covered practically everything and went down past my knees. It was cotton—no silk or satin or lace tonight. I didn’t want to look expensive. I wanted to look as if I knew my wealth, my privilege, was a gift that Konstantin and his family business had bestowed upon me. A gift that I was aware could just as easily be taken away.

  My heels were modest as well, nothing like the sexy stilettos I usually wore when I got dressed up. No labels. No designers. My hair was pulled back in a smooth, nondescript bun, my makeup subtle. I needed to look innocent and contrite. Like the kind of girl who’d consider herself lucky to be included in such a wealthy, well-situated family. Regardless of how dangerous—or illegal—their activities were.

  Now that we were actually sitting in the car, though, I was nauseated with anxiety.

  “Can we go over the lines one more time?” I whispered.

  Moving my hand from his knee to his lips, Stefan gave my knuckles a soft kiss.

&nbs
p; “Of course,” he said, squeezing my hand. “First of all, he’s going to start with a lecture about how you’ve behaved. Probably saunter around the room with his chest all puffed up. And I can guarantee you he’s been going over his speech all afternoon. So don’t interrupt.”

  “Right.” I nodded, my knee bouncing rapidly in time with my racing heart. “Contrition.”

  We had run through this over and over again. How Konstantin would chastise me for my selfish behavior and how I would pour on the apologies.

  “He’ll call you ungrateful and spoiled,” Stefan prompted. “He might yell. It’s okay if you’re scared. Don’t hide it. He’ll like that.”

  I hung my head, practicing how I would react.

  “I’m sorry,” I recited. “I know I’ve been acting like a child. Everything in life has been so easy for me up until now, and…I guess this is the first time I’ve had to learn that this kind of money doesn’t come from legitimate businesses. It’s been a hard lesson.”

  “Good,” Stefan said. “The entitlement angle is good. It’ll make it more believable for him when you play the shame card.”

  What made this part of the speech so easy was that it was partly true. I had been given a lot of opportunities and financial help in my life, and I was well aware of that fact. And there were times I did feel ashamed about it—especially now that I knew what kind of man my father really was. Stefan had coached me to lean into my feelings, to let some honesty bleed into the lies I would tell. Otherwise my words would ring hollow and false.

  I cleared my throat and continued. “But the truth is, I love our lifestyle. And more importantly, I love my husband—and I’ll stand by him and whatever methods he chooses to provide for us. I have no plans to interfere or fuss about any of your dealings ever again.”

  “And?” Stefan gestured for me to continue.

  I swallowed. “And I will be more grateful and understanding going forward. I will be nothing but supportive.”

  It made me sick to say the words even in practice, but I knew it was for the best. That this final lie would hopefully be exactly what was needed to lay the pathway to Konstantin’s end.

  It was all for the greater good.

  Thank god Stefan and I were doing this together. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to make it through the night—let alone the car ride over—without him supporting me.

  “I believe in you,” he said now. “You’ve got this down. What you’re doing is incredibly brave and it’s going to make a difference.”

  Nodding, I tried to smile, but it was strained. We were minutes away.

  “I have something for you,” he said, pulling a small square box out of his pocket.

  When I opened it, I found a pair of sparkling pendant earrings nestled in the velvet. Their beauty nearly took my breath away. The drops were round clusters of pavé diamonds set in platinum, and they had an Art Deco look to them. Subtle but incredibly sparkly.

  “They’re gorgeous,” I said, taking them in with wide eyes. “I love them.”

  “I wanted these to be a symbol of the two of us,” Stefan said, unhooking them from the velvet. “That we’re a pair now.”

  I felt my chest get tight with emotion, and I blinked back the sting in my eyes. “Thank you,” was all I could manage.

  “We belong together. Always,” he said. “Deal?”

  “Deal,” I told him.

  He swept my hair aside and helped me put them on. Somehow, having this gift from him, feeling it close to my body, calmed me in a way I hadn’t expected. I felt ready to face my father-in-law. Stefan and I were a team, and we would take down his father—and mine—together.

  The Town Car arrived at Konstantin’s apartment and dropped us off in the front of the luxurious building. Our fingers entwined, Stefan helped me out of the car and we headed inside.

  It was quiet when we entered the penthouse.

  “In the library,” Konstantin’s voice echoed through the marble entryway.

  “The library?” I whispered to Stefan.

  Something was wrong, I could sense it. Judging by the way that Stefan tensed, I could tell that he was on edge as well. What was going on?

  We made our way toward through apartment, my hand gripping Stefan’s the whole way.

  When we entered the library, we saw that Konstantin wasn’t alone.

  There were two people with him. One was a boy who was playing on his iPad, his attention fully focused on some kind of game that I could see reflected in his pale green eyes. Vaguely familiar eyes. He looked to be around seven or eight years old.

  But it was the sight of the woman that made Stefan go still at my side.

  I looked at her, at the way she looked at Stefan.

  She was beautiful—there was no denying that—and she was beautiful in that particular way that KZM models were beautiful. Tall and leggy, with long, shining black hair and striking eyes that were a stormy shade of blue-green that was rare in someone with her coloring.

  I’d never seen her before, but I could tell by the tension in the room that she was someone important.

  Glancing at my father-in-law, I took in the way he was standing in the middle of it all, a drink in his hand and a triumphant, cruel sneer on his face. It was that expression that had my stomach sinking to the floor. He had planned all this, and even though I still didn’t know exactly what this was, I could tell it wasn’t good. Was this one of the models that Stefan had helped to escape? Had she betrayed him, or been caught? If Konstantin was onto Stefan, our plan was dead in the water. Before he could ever bring the feds the bulk of the evidence against his father.

  My heart was hammering in my chest, and I didn’t know what to say or do.

  Finally, someone spoke first. It was the woman.

  “Stefan,” she said, her voice like a whisper. She was staring at my husband with tears in her eyes.

  “Anja,” he said, his eyes fixated on her.

  Realizing who she was made me feel like the floor was tilting beneath my feet. This was Anja Borjan. The model Stefan had fallen in love with when he was seventeen. The model who had disappeared after Konstantin discovered that his son wanted to marry her.

  Stefan’s gaze shifted and I followed it to the boy sitting on the couch. The boy who was still so engrossed in his video game that he didn’t even bother to look up. Stefan’s eyes moved back to Anja’s and she nodded.

  “He’s yours,” she said, so quietly that the boy didn’t even hear her. “Your son.”

  I heard the gasp that came out of me as my entire world shattered.

  My knees went weak. I felt Stefan’s hand tighten around mine, but he said nothing. How could he? What could he say? Just when our lives were finally beginning to come together—when we had finally found the love and trust and connection we’d been seeking—the woman who Stefan had loved, who he had been searching for all these years, was back.

  And she was the mother of his child.

  Stefan had a child.

  He now had an impossible choice. Would this tear us apart? Would he choose a life with Anja and his son? Or me?

  Everything was about to change.

  Tori and Stefan's entire relationship has been threatened. Where does Stefan's heart belong? With Tori or his first love?

  Find out in The Choice.

  On the day my husband and I committed to each other, I didn’t wear a white dress.

  We didn’t exchange rings.

  There was no audience or minister to witness our union.

  Only the two of us.

  We swore to put each other first, to take on the evils our families had perpetuated together. Side by side.

  But that was before the past returned to haunt us.

  Now everything has changed.

  Stefan can’t have both his past and my future.

  I can’t ask him to choose.

  And neither of us can do what has to be done without the other. It’s an impossible choice, but we’ve run out of time.

 
; The Choice

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading The Secret. Stefan and Tori have been on such a roller coaster of a ride and just when their bond begins to strengthen, a past love threatens to tear it apart. Read the emotional conclusion to the Arranged Series, The Choice.

  * * *

  Thank you again for reading Stefan and Tori’s story. If you enjoyed The Secret , I would greatly appreciate it if you let a friend or two know and leave a review. It’s the best way to thank an author and just a few sentences is all it takes to show your support.

  * * *

  Sincerely,

  Stella

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  Also by Stella Gray

  Arranged Series

  The Deal

  The Secret

  The Choice

  * * *

  Convenience Series

  The Sham - June 2020

  The Contract - July 2020

  The Ruin - August 2020

  About Stella Gray

  Stella Gray is an emerging author of contemporary romance. When she is not writing, Stella loves to read, hike, knit and cuddle with her greyhound.