Page 44 of Only Ever Mine

The voice on the other end answered immediately. “Ma’am?”

“I want Amélie shut down,” she said, her tone cool, controlled. “Temporarily, at least. Enough to cause damage.”

A pause. “You want an inspection?”

“No. I want a violation.”

Another hesitation. “That could get tricky.”

V smiled. “Then I suggest you find someone willing to get their hands dirty.”

11

SCARLETT

The letter trembledin my hands.

NOTICE OF HEALTH INSPECTION – IMMEDIATE REVIEW REQUIRED

The words blurred together as I read them over and over, willing them to change. But they didn’t.

I sucked in a slow, steadying breath, my fingers tightening around the paper. My restaurant, my life’s work, was under threat. Again.

It didn’t make sense. I ran Amélie with precision, prided myself on the highest standards. How the hell did this happen?

My stomach twisted, and for the first time that day, I couldn’t tell if it was stress or something more.

I’d been feeling… off lately. Dizzy spells. A few waves of nausea. Fatigue that hit me harder than usual.

I closed my eyes.

No. I couldn’t think about that right now.

There was too much at stake.

I took another breath and shoved the letter into my bag. I had to focus.

I needed to get ahead of this inspection before it turned into something worse.

But as I turned to head back into the kitchen, I nearly crashed into Christian.

He caught me before I could stumble, his strong hands firm on my arms.

“Easy,” he murmured, his sharp eyes scanning my face.

Damn it. I didn’t have the energy to fake calm.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice softer now.

I forced a nod. “Fine. Just… busy.”

Christian frowned, not buying it for a second. He never did.

“I got a call from Eric,” he said, watching me closely. “He said there are rumors spreading about a possible health code violation.”

I swallowed hard, my pulse kicking up. “So it’s already out there.”

Christian’s jaw ticked. “Looks that way.”

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