PROLOGUE

I never thought that night was the beginning of my family's end. I thought I was simply attending another boring business dinner. Little did I know, there was someone who was plotting for the downfall of my family's Empire.

My eyes wandered around, the room filled with powerful men in expensive suits. Crystal chandeliers. Champagne glasses and quiet conversations about millions and billions. It was almost dizzying listening to them talk about such an enormous amount of money in a single business deal. I never wanted to attend gatherings like this in the first place, I’ve never been fond of events like these—fancy dresses, endless drinks, and people constantly competing to show off their wealth, status, and success in business. But if it weren’t for my father, I wouldn’t have come tonight.

I took a sigh and placed the wine glass on the bar counter. When I looked back, I was stunned by the person where my eyes landed on.

Vincent Alessandro Moretti.

I know him. Everybody does.

He was a formidable name in the business world—brilliant, obscenely wealthy, and devastatingly handsome, yet shrouded in mystery. I’d heard the whispers, too: that he was part of the Mafia. I had no idea if there was any truth to them, but one look at his stance, his aura, and the quiet danger surrounding him made me wonder if the rumors weren’t entirely baseless.

He stood at the far end of the room, dressed in a black suit that seemed to disappear into the shadows behind him.

He wasn't smiling.

He wasn't speaking.

He was simply watching.

Watching everyone.

Until his eyes found mine.

For a second, I couldn't breathe.

His stare wasn't the kind that made a woman feel beautiful. It's something else.

It feels like, as if he could look straight into your soul, through every lie, every secret, every carefully constructed wall inside you.

I looked away first. I couldn't bear the weight of his stares.

But I guess it was my mistake.

Because when I looked back...

He was already walking towards me. I flustered, but I made sure not to let him see.

"Elara Celine Laurent." His voice was low. Yet dangerously calm. An expression of confusion crept across my face.

"You know my name?" I whispered. Trying to hide the confusion written on my face because of the realization that he called my name as if he knew every part of me.

"I know more about you than you realize.”

My brows knitted together.

"Is that supposed to make me feel safe Mr. Moretti?"

A faint smile touched his lips.

"Nope." That single word sent an unfamiliar chill down my spine.

He leaned slightly closer... Closer... And closer... Our face were inches away from each other, We are so close that I could finally smell his expensive perfume... I froze in my place, I wasn't expecting something but when he moved closer I just closed my eyes in instant then I felt his breath on my ear... He whispered.

"It's supposed to make you understand that you should be careful."

I opened my eyes. He pulled away from me while a grin painted on his lips.

I should have walked away. But I was left dumbfounded. What does he mean by that?

I left the hotel that night with my mind filled with questions and confusion after my unexpected encounter with the man feared throughout the city.

THREE WEEKS LATER

I woke up to some bad news about our company. The Laurent Empire was collapsing.

The news came at six in the evening.

Our company shares had crashed.

Our investors were pulling out.

Banks were demanding payment.

And the Laurent family's name-which had stood for generations of wealth and influence-was suddenly being dragged through every tabloid and news tv in the country. I couldn't believe it. How did it happen so fast?

I rushed to my father's office, I stood in front of his desk, staring at him.

"How much?" I asked him, unable to hide the concern in my voice. My father didn't answer.

"Papa" I called, growing impatient with his silence. I notice his hands trembled. My father looked up at me. Worry and sadness filled his eyes, but beneath them, I could still see the unmistakable traces of fear.

"Billions." He whispered. My stomach dropped.

"How did this happen?" He gave me a silent answer. “The company was doing fine. What happened, Papa? Why does everything suddenly collapse?”

Then my father looked at me.

And there was something in his eyes that frightened me more than the debt itself.

Guilt.

"Papa... How did this happen?"

Before he could answer, the office doors opened. My mother walked in. Her face was pale. She looked at me. I saw sadness in her eyes.

Then behind her was a man in a black suit.

I recognized him immediately.

Vincent Alessandro Moretti. My brows furrowed. My heart stopped. What is he doing in our house?

He walked into the room as though it belonged to him. His gaze met mine. He looked serious and unbother.

My father stood up and hurriedly went to face the man who had just arrived.

"Mr. Moretti." Papa extended his arm for a shake hand but Mr. Moretti ignored him.

His eyes remained on me. I was just looking at him with my brows knitted together. My eyes were asking, "why are you here?" But he kept his posture steady, then he calmly placed a thick black folder on the desk.

"Your outstanding debt," he said. My eyes turned to papa. I saw him swallowed.

"I-I need more time, Mr. Moretti." Papa answered.

"You've had enough." He snapped impatiently.

"We can negotiate."

"No." The answer was immediate. Cold. Serious. Final.

I looked between them.

"What is going on?" I finally spoke but nobody answered.

I stepped toward my father.

"Papa, can you at least tell me why this man is standing in your office, talking about your debt?"

My father closed his eyes. And when he finally spoke, his voice broke.

"Celine..." I knew it then, just by him calling me by that name, this matter is serious, so serious that whatever was inside that folder wasn't about money.

It was about me. My father pushed the folder toward me.

"Read it." My hands shook as I opened it.

Page after page.

There were contracts.

Financial agreements.

Debt transfers.

And then I saw my name.

ELARA CELINE LAURENT.

I stared at it. My heart started to race.

"No." I shook my head over and over. My voice was barely audible. I turned another page. My eyes moved over the words.

Then stopped. I felt my world crushed.

Marriage Agreement, it says.

Then my blood ran cold. I looked at my father.

"What is this?" He couldn't meet my eyes.

"Papa."

"Elara, honey, listen—"

"You promised them me?" I cut him.

My mother began crying. She was just so quiet the whole time. But now, maybe she couldn't hold herself back anymore.

"We had no choice." It was mom.

"No choice?" I turned to her. My voice cracked. This is all unbelievable.

"You lost billions and your solution was to give me to him?" I said in disbelief.

Vincent remained completely silent. He seemed to be enjoying the show unfolding before him. That somehow made everything worse, my blood rose. I turned toward him.

"You knew this was gonna happen. Is this what you meant last time when you said I should be careful?"

"Yes." He answered casually.

"You planned all this." His eyes never left mine.

"Yes." He answered as if this is just something I should just sleep off later.

The room suddenly felt too small.

I laughed bitterly, even though tears were already burning my eyes. My heart aches. My chest wants to burst.

"So that's what I am?" I pointed at the contract.

"A payment?" Vincent's expression hardened.

"A debt." He corrected me. I felt something shattered inside me. A tear fell on my cheek.

My father immediately stepped forward.

"Elara, please-"

"No!" I pulled away from him.

"You just sold your daughter, dad!" I shouted.

"We were going to lose everything!"

"But you already did!" My voice echoed across the room.

"You lost the company. You lost your fortune. And now you're willing to lose me just to save your name?"

My mother covered her mouth as she cried. What hurts the most is that even my mother couldn't do anything. I'm sure this will never gonna happen if she did not agree. My heart aches because of that thought.

My father looked destroyed. My mom is devastated.

But Vincent? He remained calm.

Almost terrifyingly calm.

Then I noticed he walked toward me.

One step.

Then another.

Until he stood directly in front of me.

"You misunderstand Ms. Elara Laurent."

I looked up at him through tears.

"Then explain it to me!" His eyes darkened.

"I'm not taking you as payment."

"Then what?" His voice dropped.

"I'm taking you as my wife."

I was silenced by his words... then I stared at him. Confused. Disbelief made my brain numb.

"What?"

"Your family owes the Moretti Empire billions." He reached for the contract and held it between us. My brows furrowed.

"I can destroy the Laurent family completely." My breathing became unsteady.

"Or..." He paused.

"I can erase the debt." My eyes narrowed.

"What do you want Moretti?"

His gaze held mine.

"You." A smirked curled up his lips.

My heart hammered against my chest.

"You want me to marry you? Are you insane? Do you think marriage is just some kind of a joke?" I never expect a grin as his reply to what I just said.

"Yes. And I am not asking. It's an order. Unless you're planning to turn me down..." He paused, "I'm sure you don't want to see your family turn into ashes?"

I took a step back. What he said secretly gave me chills. Knowing this despicable man. He can do anything he wants in just a snap of his fingers. Power is nothing to him. Because it is him. He is Vincent Alessandro Moretti, whatever he's gonna say, he will do it. No matter who you are. No matter the cause.

"How long until this contract becomes void?" I said trying to steady my voice.

"One year."

I laughed in disbelief. "You expect me to believe this is a normal business arrangement?"

"No." His expression didn't change.

"I expect you to understand that you don't have another option." His words seems final. Moretti doesn't waste a second. I actually wonder why he's still here facing me, listening to my arguments and dramas when he can actually just point gun on my head and end all this talk.

I looked at my parents.

My father couldn't look at me.

My mother was crying.

And suddenly I understood.

This wasn't a proposal.

It wasn't a choice.

It was a sentence disguised as a contract.

Vincent extended a pen toward me.

"Sign." I stared at it.

My entire future was sitting inside that folder. My freedom. My family's survival.

My name. Everything.

I looked at Vincent one last time. But I really have to ask...

"Why me?" For the first time that night, something unreadable flickered across his eyes. He leaned closer to whisper something on my ear.

"Because you're the one thing your father would never willingly give me." My breath caught. He pulled away and placed the pen in front of me.

"And now, Elara... He's giving you to me anyway." He smiled. Not a sweet smile. A smile of victory with hidden plans.

I looked down at the contract.

Then at my family. Then back at the man who had just become the most dangerous person in my life starting today.

I picked up the pen. And signed.

ELARA CELINE LAURENT

The moment the ink touched the paper...

The Laurent family debt disappeared.

And my freedom disappeared with it.

I didn't know it then. But that signature wasn't the end of my family's downfall.

It was the beginning of my life as

Vincent Alessandro Moretti's wife.

Or should I say The Contract Wife of a billionaire Mafia boss.