Chapter 1

Elena’s POV

“If you want me to sign away my life, Mr. Blackwood, the least you can do is look me in the eye while you destroy it.”

My voice trembled, but I pushed the words out anyway. I stood in the middle of his massive sixty-fifth-floor penthouse, my heels digging into the soft carpet. Outside, Manhattan was just a flash of headlights and skyscrapers but inside, it felt like a fancy frozen tomb.

Alexander Blackwood didn’t even blink. He just kept staring out the floor-to-ceiling glass, his hands shoved carelessly into the pockets of his tailored suit pants. 

He was the kind of man people whispered about in corporate boardrooms, calling him ruthless, extremely rich, and completely lacking empathy. The media called him a financial genius but standing this close to him, I felt a sense of danger.

“You’re three minutes late, Miss Vance,” he said. His voice was low and rough, breaking through the quiet room. He still hadn't turned around.

I swallowed hard, my knuckles turning white as I gripped the cheap leather folder in my hands. “The subway broke down, and your security team downstairs practically gave me a thorough search.”

“I don’t pay for excuses, I pay for results.” He finally turned, and my chest felt tight.

I’d seen his face on business magazine covers a thousand times, but the glossy pages didn't do him justice.

He had a sharp, harsh jawline, dark stubble, and eyes that seemed to look like a stormy sea. There was an anger radiating off him that made me want to take a step back, but I forced my feet to stay where they were.

He walked over to me, his steps were heavy and deliberate. He smelled like expensive cedarwood and cold rain.

When he stopped, he was so close I could feel the heat off his skin. He stood so close and so tall over me that I had no choice but to raise my head to look at him.

“Do you have your own copy of the terms you wanted?” he asked. His eyes fixed on my mouth for a split second before locking back onto my eyes.

“Yes,” I said, trying to keep my breathing even. I needed to remember why I was here. My stepfather had ruined my career, stolen my inheritance and left my mother with a medical debt worth millions which she couldn’t pay.

I was so desperate but I wasn’t going to let this billionaire treat me like a piece of trash.

“But we have a deal. The moment I sign this, your lawyers will go after my stepfather. You ruin him, you clear my mother's hospital bills and make sure it’s permanent.”

He smiled in a very mocking manner and stretched out his hand, his thumb and forefinger touching my chin. His skin was warm and rough, and the sudden touch made my heart jump.

“You're not in a position to negotiate, Elena,” he said quietly, his thumb rubbing over my bottom lip so hard.

“You came to me with nothing. If you want my money to save your mother and get your revenge, you play by my rules.”

“And what exactly are those rules?” I asked, my heart beating so fast.

Alexander leaned down, his lips brushing against the edge of my ear. His warm breath gave me full-body chills.

“For the next year, you belong to me,” he said. “You will wear my ring, move into this apartment, stand beside me at every public event and act like the perfect loving wife, so my investors will believe I am a responsible family man.”

I swallowed hard, my voice barely steady.

“And when there are no cameras?” I asked.

“When we're behind closed doors, you do what I say. No feelings. No falling in love. It’s a business transaction,” he said, stepping back quickly and leaving me shivering from the sudden cold.

He pointed a long finger toward the heavy desk where a thick stack of papers waited. “Sign it.”

I took a shaky breath. It felt like signing my soul over to the devil, but I didn’t have a choice. If I walked out that door, my mother would die in a state care facility and my stepfather would win.

I walked to the desk, picked up the pen and wrote my name on the dotted line... Elena Vance.

“Good,” Alexander said, appearing right behind me. He took the pen from my hand. His fingers brushed against mine and a sharp feeling rushed up my arm. “Welcome to the family, wife.”

Before I could even process the word, the private elevator doors at the end of the hall dinged and slid open.

Marcus, Alexander’s head of security, ran out. He was a big, tough guy who usually looked like a brick wall but right now, his face was completely pale. He was holding a tablet as if it were a live bomb.

“Sir,” Marcus panted, looking terrified. “We just got the intercepted DNA data from the private clinic in Switzerland. The search for your late brother’s kid.”

Alexander froze, his entire body turning to stone. “Did you find the boy?”

Marcus looked at me in shock and then looked back at his boss. “The DNA is a perfect match, sir. The surrogate who secretly gave birth to your brother’s heir two years ago... the kid you’ve been burning through millions to find…”

Marcus raised the screen, pointing it directly at me.

“...It's her. Elena Vance is the mother.”

The room went completely silent.

My stomach dropped into my shoes. My blood ran cold. It was my secret. My deepest, most carefully hidden secret. I had given birth to my beautiful baby boy in a tiny town hours away, hiding him with a trusted nanny to keep him safe from my greedy stepfather. And now, the secret is gone.

Alexander turned to me so fast it made my head spin. The calm, arrogant billionaire was gone. In his place was a man possessed by pure, terrifying rage.

He suddenly rushed forward, grabbing my upper arms and pushing me back against the edge of the heavy desk. He pinned me there, his face was just a few inches from mine, his breathing was heavy and angry.

“You!” Alexander muttered, his voice shaking and there was something dark and possessive in the way he said it.

“You have my nephew. You hid a Blackwood child from me. Where is he?”

I stared up into the eyes of my new husband and fear gripped me.

I had walked straight into a cage with a monster and he was never going to let me out.