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Chapter Six: Her Mother’s Voice
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2026-08-10 22:59:51
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Bound by Deception Chapter Six: Her Mother’s Voice
Nadia didn't remember the drive to the hospital. One moment she was standing in Damian's study listening to her mother's voicemail greeting play through his phone, and the next she was walking through the same sliding doors she'd walked through the night of the collapse, her heart pounding so hard it hurt.Damian had wanted to come with her. She'd told him no — this was something she needed to do alone, at least the first time, before she had any idea what she was even walking into. He hadn't argued, though the look on his face as she left made it clear he wasn't happy about it.Her mother was sitting up in bed when Nadia walked in, a book open in her lap, looking healthier than she had in weeks. The sight of it — her mother looking well, looking rested, looking like a woman who wasn't fighting for her life — hit Nadia harder than she expected."Nadia. This is a surprise." Her mother smiled, setting the book aside. "I thought you had that gala this week. How did it go?""Why does Mr.
Bound by Deception Chapter Five: The Aunt
"You must be Nadia," the woman said again, her smile still not reaching her eyes. "I'm Colleen. Damian's aunt."Nadia forced her expression into something calm, something that didn't betray the fact that she'd just heard this woman's name twice in the last ten minutes, once on a phone call not meant for her ears, and once in gossip whispered by strangers at a bar. She took the offered hand and shook it, keeping her grip steady even as her pulse hammered."It's nice to meet you," Nadia said. "Damian hasn't mentioned much about his family.""Hasn't he?" Colleen's eyes swept over her, slow and assessing, the way Nadia imagined she might look over a business proposal she hadn't yet decided whether to accept. "That does sound like him. He's always been protective of his privacy. Comes from losing his father so young, I think. Made him careful about who he lets close.""That must have been hard for him.""It was hard for all of us." Colleen's tone stayed light, pleasant, and somehow that ma
Bound by Deception Chapter Four: Cracks in the Glass
Damian didn't come down for breakfast the next morning, or the one after that.Nadia told herself it wasn't her business. Whatever had rattled him on that phone call three nights ago belonged to his world, not hers — a world of family pressure and business deals she had no part in beyond the paper that made her his wife. But she couldn't shake the look on his face through the gap in the door, the way his certainty had cracked open in real time.She found herself watching him differently after that. Not with suspicion, exactly. Something closer to curiosity.On the third morning, she found him in the kitchen earlier than usual, still in yesterday's clothes, a cold cup of coffee untouched in front of him."You look like you haven't slept," Nadia said, before she could stop herself.Damian glanced up, and for a moment he looked almost startled that she'd spoken to him at all. "Business complications," he said. "Nothing that concerns you.""Alright," Nadia said simply, and turned to pour
Bound by Deception Chapter Three: A Marriage of Paper
Nadia hadn't slept the night before her wedding.She lay in her narrow bed staring at the ceiling, running through everything she'd overheard outside Mr. Grant's office again and again, trying to make sense of it. *Vivienne. Five years. Everything exactly where it needs to be.* None of it fit together into anything she could act on, and by morning she'd told herself the same thing a dozen times — that she had bigger problems than a conversation she didn't understand. Her mother needed the money. That was the only thing that mattered.She dressed in the small courthouse office Mr. Grant had arranged, a simple ivory dress that fit like it had been chosen by someone who'd never met her, which she supposed it had. No white gown, no flowers, no guests waiting in rows. Just Mr. Grant, a witness she didn't recognize, and a clerk who looked bored enough that Nadia wondered how many contract marriages passed through this same office in a single month.Damian arrived exactly on time, dressed in
Bound by Deception Chapter Two: The Contract
The building was the tallest one Nadia had ever stood in front of. Glass and steel rose so high she had to tilt her head back to see where it ended, and even then, the top seemed to disappear into the clouds.Mrs. Calloway had arranged everything — a car to pick her up, a folder of instructions on what to wear, even a warning not to be late. "The Hale family doesn't wait for anyone," she'd said, and Nadia hadn't been sure if it was meant as advice or a threat.She smoothed down the front of the plain black dress she'd bought secondhand and walked inside.The lobby alone felt bigger than her entire apartment. A woman at the front desk checked her name against a list, gave her a small, unreadable smile, and directed her to the top floor.The lawyer's office was all glass and quiet efficiency. A man in an expensive suit slid a thick folder across the desk before Nadia had even finished sitting down."Ms. Voss. I'm Mr. Grant, Mr. Hale's attorney. This is the marriage contract. I'd advise
Bound by Deception Chapter One: The Collapse
Nadia was washing dishes when she heard the crash.She dropped the plate in the sink and ran to the living room. Her mother was on the floor, one hand clutching her chest, her face pale and covered in sweat."Mom!" Nadia dropped to her knees beside her. "Mom, can you hear me?"Her mother's eyes fluttered open, but she couldn't speak. Her lips were moving, but no sound came out.Nadia grabbed her phone with shaking hands and called for an ambulance. The next few minutes felt like hours. She kept talking to her mother the whole time, telling her to hold on, telling her help was coming, even though she had no idea if her mother could hear her at all.The hospital waiting room was cold and too bright. Nadia sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, still wearing her house slippers, still in the same clothes she'd had on when she was washing dishes hours ago.The days that followed blurred together. Scans. Blood tests. More scans. A parade of specialists who spoke to each other in low voi
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