Clause Seven

*Chapter 10

The hotel room was quiet for the first time in weeks.

No sirens. No gunfire. No red dots on glass. Just the low hum of the Geneva city lights outside and the weight of everything unsaid between them.

Jennifer set her bag down and turned to face David.

“Talk,” she said.

David closed the door and leaned against it, like he needed the frame to stay upright. He looked tired in a way that had nothing to do with lack of sleep.

“Clause Seven,” he said. “If either of us falls for the other, the contract voids. You lose the company, the money, the protection.”

Jennifer nodded. “I know what it says.”

“And you asked if we make it through this, we’d talk about it.”

Jennifer stepped closer. “So talk.”

David ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t offer you a clean answer, Jennifer. Because I don’t know when it stopped being about the contract.”

Jennifer’s breath caught.

“When was it about the contract?” she asked quietly.

David looked at her like she’d just asked him to bleed.

“The night you stood in front of Carmilla at that gala and didn’t flinch,” he said. “The night you walked into the east wing knowing I’d told you not to. The night you jumped a man with a gun to keep me alive.”

He swallowed.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. You were supposed to be leverage. A shield. Someone I could keep safe while I cleaned up my father’s mess.”

Jennifer crossed her arms. “And now?”

“Now I can’t sleep if you’re not in the same building,” David said bluntly. “Now when Ravenna put a gun to my head, the only thing I thought was _she can’t see me die_. Now I’m standing here telling you that if Clause Seven voids the contract, I’ll rewrite it a hundred times until it doesn’t.”

Jennifer stared at him.

“You’d risk everything?” she asked.

“I already did,” David said. “The moment I let you into that safe room.”

Jennifer’s throat tightened.

“And if I say I feel the same?” she asked.

David’s eyes darkened. “Then we have a problem.”

“Why?”

“Because Ravenna’s arrest doesn’t end this, Jennifer,” David said. “Harry’s still out there. Argent Holdings has fragments left. And the moment the world knows you and I are real, they’ll use it against us.”

Jennifer walked to him, stopping inches away.

“Let them try,” she said.

David’s hands came up to her arms, but he didn’t pull her closer. Not yet.

“You’re not afraid?” he asked.

“I’m terrified,” Jennifer said honestly. “But I’m more terrified of spending two years pretending I don’t care about you.”

David’s jaw tightened.

“Then don’t pretend,” he said.

He pulled her against him, fast and careful, like he was afraid she’d disappear if he moved too slow.

Jennifer didn’t resist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him like she’d been holding it in since the penthouse.

It wasn’t careful. It wasn’t strategic. It was real.

When they broke apart, both of them were breathing hard.

David rested his forehead against hers.

“Clause Seven is void,” he said quietly.

Jennifer smiled, a little shaky. “Good. I hated that clause.”

David’s mouth curved. “Me too.”

There was a knock at the door.

Both of them tensed instantly.

David moved in front of Jennifer, hand already reaching for the gun he’d left on the dresser.

“Who is it?” he called.

“Ms. Okoro,” came the voice. “We need to talk. Now.”

David opened the door a crack.

Ms. Okoro stood in the hallway, face grim. Marcus was behind her.

“What is it?” David asked.

“Harry Argent just surfaced,” Ms. Okoro said. “He’s in Geneva. And he’s filed a counterclaim.”

Jennifer stepped forward. “Counterclaim for what?”

“For the partnership,” Ms. Okoro said. “He’s claiming you forged the evidence. He’s claiming your father sold the company willingly. And he’s claiming…”

She hesitated.

“He’s claiming you and David are engaged in a fraudulent conspiracy to seize Argent assets,” Ms. Okoro finished.

Jennifer felt the floor tilt.

David’s jaw clenched.

“Based on what?” he asked.

“Based on a video,” Ms. Okoro said. “Of you two. In the safe room. Right after the shooting.”

Jennifer’s blood ran cold.

“How?” she asked.

“Someone had a camera in there,” Ms. Okoro said. “Someone’s been watching you both for weeks.”

David swore under his breath.

“Where’s Harry now?” he asked.

“In custody,” Ms. Okoro said. “Interpol picked him up an hour ago. But he made bail. And the video’s already been leaked to three news outlets.”

Jennifer’s phone buzzed.

She didn’t need to check it to know what it was.

David’s phone buzzed too.

He looked at it, then at Jennifer.

“Tomorrow morning,” he said. “Every headline will say we faked the engagement to steal a company.”

Jennifer met his eyes.

“Let them,” she said.

David frowned. “Jennifer—”

“No,” she said. “We spent months hiding. We spent months pretending. I’m done.”

She took his hand.

“If they want to call it fraud, let them,” she said. “We have the real evidence. We have the truth. And we have each other.”

David stared at her for a long moment.

Then he nodded.

“Okay,” he said.

Ms. Okoro exhaled. “Then we go on offense. Press conference at 9 AM. We release the full file. We tell the truth.”

Jennifer nodded.

As Ms. Okoro and Marcus left, David closed the door and locked it again.

He looked at Jennifer.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Jennifer walked to him and took his face in her hands.

“I’m sure,” she said.

David kissed her again, slower this time. Like a promise.

Later, when they were lying in bed, Jennifer’s head on David’s chest, she whispered, “Do you think it’s really over?”

David’s arm tightened around her.

“No,” he said. “But it’s ours now.”

Jennifer closed her eyes.

For the first time since her parents died, she believed him.

---

*One Week Later*

The press conference was chaos.

Jennifer stood at the podium beside David, wearing a simple black suit and no makeup. No armor. Just herself.

“Two weeks ago, I was accused of industrial espionage,” she said. “Today, I’m here to tell you why.”

Behind her, the screen lit up.

Emails. Wire transfers. Her father’s video.

The room went silent.

When she finished, she stepped back.

David took the podium.

“Argent Holdings and Loriss Corp will merge under a new board,” he said. “Jennifer Benz will sit on that board. And she will not be pushed out again.”

The questions started immediately.

“Is it true you’re engaged?”

“Is the relationship real or strategic?”

“Mr. Loriss, did you use Ms. Benz?”

David looked at Jennifer.

Jennifer squeezed his hand.

“Ask her,” he said.

Jennifer stepped forward.

“My name is Jennifer Benz,” she said. “And yes, David Loriss and I are together. It started as a contract. It’s not a contract anymore.”

The room exploded.

Jennifer didn’t flinch.

Afterward, in the car, David turned to her.

“Ready for what comes next?” he asked.

Jennifer looked out at the city.

“No,” she said honestly. “But I’m not alone anymore.”

David took her hand.

“Neither am I,” he said.

Outside, the city moved on.

Inside, something new had just begun.