CHAPTER 2

I watched the conference four more times then I put my phone down, got dressed, and took a cab straight to his estate.

She's my wife.

The words replayed in my head, over and over again.

The lobby security recognized my face before I even reached the desk, which was not even surprising given that my face had been on every screen in the country for the past few hours.

The man behind the front desk looked at me, then at his monitor, then back at me, probably calculating whether or not stopping me was worth the personal risk.

He let me through finally.

I walked into his office without knocking, my vision red as heat flooded my veins.

Van was at his desk, jacket on, looking too composed for a man who had just publicly claimed a woman he hadn't spoken to in five years. He glanced up when the door opened, his expression perfectly neutral.

"I was wondering when you'd arrive," he said, his gaze shifting to the open file on his desk.

"What the hell was that about?" I asked, slamming my palms on his desk, shooting him a look that would have killed him if looks could actually kill.

"Sit down, Zara." He said passively, like I was a kid just throwing a tantrum.

"You think you have the right to do whatever the fuck you want—"

"Right…you want to talk about rights.” He leaned forward, his gaze fixing on me. What gave you the right to break into my facility?"

"That is not what we're discussing."

"That is exactly what we are discussing" He leaned back in his chair. "You disappeared five years ago without a word to anyone, Zara. No explanation, no contact, nothing, and then you reappear in the middle of the night in a restricted area of my building." His eyes stayed on mine. "You have no right to come complaining to me about the consequences."

“Consequences.” I scoffed. “Naming me your wife in front of national television is the ‘Consequence.”

“You should have stayed in whatever hole you crawled out from.”

Something snapped in me, propelling me to laugh in the most maniac way possible.

"You're a joke," I said, staring him dead in the eyes. "This whole empire is a joke." I straightened up, spreading my arms. "Do you understand how easily I walked in here? How easily I got through your systems, your locks, your so-called security?" I shook my head, still laughing. "The great Grey Empire, and I —alone—walked right into it. Do you know how pathetic that is?"

Van looked at me.

Then, slowly, he leaned back in his chair, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Did it ever seem odd to you?" he said quietly. "How easily it all went?"

My face contracted into a frown. “What are you talking about?”

"Think about it, Zara." He tilted his head, almost gently. "The Grey Empire—known for its security system—and you—alone—infiltrated it. Didn't that seem odd?"

My eyes widened as I started to get the picture."What are you insinuating?"

"The document you came for," he said, smiling. "The file, the rumour that something existed inside this building that could bring the Grey Empire to its knees." He paused for a moment staring me dead in the eyes. "I planted it."

My heart stopped and my legs lost their balance.

"I knew you were out there somewhere." He stood, moving around the desk. "I knew you were angry—I knew better than anyone how much you hated me, how much you wanted  to destroy me…So i planted it, the object of my destruction—" he stopped a few feet from me, "—knowing that you'd come."

"You…You're lying."

"I waited for two years after I planted it," he continued, ignoring me completely. "Two years, Zara. And there was no sign of you still. No movement, no trace, nothing." He slid both hands into his pockets. "And then Calder flagged something. A car circling the block everyday for the past two weeks." He looked at me dead in the eyes. "I knew immediately."

The blood drained from my face, my eyes widening in shock.

"I opened every access point for you…ME…not that useless card you're carrying about.”

I grabbed the edge of his desk, my legs shaky, refusing to cooperate.

"You orchestrated everything.” The words came out barely above a whisper. "All of it."

"The document, the footage, the press conference." He nodded. "Yes...it was all me."

Something broke loose inside my chest.

"You absolute—" I grabbed the first thing within reach, a glass name plaque and hurled it. He stepped aside and it shattered against the wall behind him. "You maniac—" I swept the file off his desk, papers scattering everywhere. My hands were shaking. My whole body was shaking. "Five years! I spent five years— " the pen holder went next, then the neat stack of folders, then the small frame on the corner of the desk. "Do you know what those five years cost me? Do you have any idea—"

"Zara—"

"Don't." I spun on him, breathing hard, eyes burning. "Don't you dare say my name. You built a trap and you baited me into it like an animal and you used it to put your name on me in front of the entire world—"

The door opened.

Calder—Van's head of security walked in, his eyes scanning the disorganised space for a moment. He crossed to Van's desk, set the tablet down and stepped back.

I looked at the screen and my stomach dropped.

It was a picture of me leaving my house this morning and a picture of the house itself.

Investigation ongoing. Background, known associates, and current residence under active review—

My bag slipped off my shoulder and hit the floor, a dinosaur keychain falling out.

I crouched down and picked it up slowly.

My chest caved in, my heart beating loud and fast.

If they had my house—if they went to my house—if they kept pulling and pulling until everything I had buried came to the surface—

"The investigation stops the moment you agree to be my wife," Van said, crouching to meet my eye level. "That's all it takes."

I stayed crouched on the floor with the keychain closed in my fist.

"I'll do it." I said finally letting out a deep sigh. "I'll do it, call off the investigation."