Run, Girl (If You Can)

Lacy was over the moon when her father told her that Aaron had broken things off with his Bostonian fiancée. The part about him telling his father he didn't want a business marriage didn't even register in her mind.

She was too busy daydreaming about what it would be like being Mrs. Hale. The parties, the jewelry, the status of being the top socialite married to the top businessman in high society. Everything she had been dreaming of since she was thirteen years old was about to come to fruition.

Around the time she knew Aaron would be getting home, she staked out the parking garage in his building. The doorman couldn't find her down there to toss her out! He drove a black Mercedes with a custom license plate; he would be easy to find.

After about twenty minutes of waiting around she got her chance. He had just pulled into a parking space and was carrying a bouquet of baby pink roses.

A small frown appeared on her face. Who were those for? He had just broken up with somebody. He wasn't the type of person to buy flowers for himself.

Rather than confront him, she decided to follow him and see if she could discover the identity of the woman the flowers were for. He headed to the lobby, where she hid behind a pillar out of the doorman's line of sight.

The lobby was relatively empty so she was able to make out what he was saying to the doorman at the concierge desk. "Has my wife's package arrived yet?"

"Yes, Mr. Hale. I have it right here."

Wife?! What wife?! He had barely gotten unengaged!

Lacy leaned forward, straining to read the name on the package's shipping label. It was too far away. She pulled out her phone and snapped a photo, planning to enlarge it later.

Aaron had already made it to the elevator so she decided to leave on her own before suffering the indignity of being thrown out yet again. She had some investigating to do.

On the ride home she zoomed in on the photo. It was blurry, but if she squinted she could made out a capital K and what looked like a few lowercase E's. There was only one person she knew of connected to Aaron who had those letters in her name.

Keeley Hall. But Keeley Hall had been pregnant with someone else's baby! At least…according to Graydon Meyer. Who was oddly interested in Aaron.

"That liar!" she shrieked, startling the driver.

There was no boyfriend! She had been with Aaron all the time! So who on earth was Bethany Carlisle? An actress? But she definitely existed…Lacy had seen her with her own two eyes. Alistair had heard her talking on the phone. Or someone.

Keeley Hall? Had it really been her the entire time? Married! She couldn't believe it. There was no way someone as high profile as Aaron Hale could have gotten married without anyone finding out about it.

She thought about what Graydon had said. Aaron was trying to leave the circle. He had said personally that he was a simple man with simple needs. Using a fake fiancée as a smokescreen for a hidden wife suddenly didn't seem so farfetched.

They were scheming against her together! How dare he pretend to help her when he had no intention of getting her together with Aaron!

Lacy had to get rid of her. But there was still a child to contend with. It was most likely born by now; the woman had been the size of a whale the last she saw her. If it was a boy, Lacy's position would be in jeopardy. Aaron would already have his heir.

Alistair clearly didn't know about any of this since all of her misinformation had come from him. Would he accept an outsider as his daughter-in-law just because she had given birth to a son?

She bit her lip, unsure. None of the Hales were predictable anymore. She really couldn't guess how Alistair would respond. He absolutely could not find out about this.

She wasn't sure who to be more furious at. Aaron, Keeley, or Graydon. All of them had deceived her. They were taking her for a fool. Did they really think they would be able to hide it from her forever?

Nobody got in the way of what Lacy Knighton wanted. Nobody!

It was unfortunate that Max had been giving her the cold shoulder these days whenever she asked for a favor regarding Aaron. She could really use his private security forces right now. How was she supposed to kidnap Keeley Hall and her child without them when she couldn't even get into the building?

She hadn't come out once in the months she had been staking the place out. If she hadn't happened to see Aaron exactly when she did, Lacy would still be in the dark.

It was unbelievable that they had actually been together all this time. It had to have been at least since Cameron Singleton's wedding, if not before. Hadn't that wench learned her lesson in high school?

Aaron couldn't be reasoned with; she had learned that a long time ago. He was somehow stuck under Keeley Hall's spell. He wouldn't fulfil his responsibility as a member of high society until that woman was gone.

She had to get rid of her in a way that couldn't be traced. But that would require leaving the safety of the penthouse with that crazy doorman as a guard dog. Lacy needed to find a way to lure her out.

What would make a woman like Keeley Hall go outside? A family emergency? As far as she knew, she only had a father left. If something happened to him she would definitely go running to him but that didn't necessarily mean she would bring the baby.

That baby had to go too, if it was a boy. If it was a girl Alistair Hale probably wouldn't care about it. It was the unfortunate way that high society worked. Lacy was one of the rare exceptions whose father doted on her.

She had to think. Only after that woman was gone would Aaron do what his father said and marry her…