Chapter Three: Welcome Home, Amara

I almost didn’t go.

That was the embarrassing truth.

After agreeing to meet Victor Hale, I spent nearly forty minutes standing in front of Elena’s mirror questioning every life decision that had brought me there.

Including the decision to trust a rich lawyer with serial killer vibes.

“You’re actually doing this.” I whispered to my reflection. My reflection looked equally concerned.

I had changed outfits three times already. The first dress made me look like I was trying too hard. The second made me look like I sold illegal substances behind clubs. The third one, the black long sleeved top and jeans I finally settled on, at least made me look normal.

Well, as normal as a woman going to discuss contract marriage terms with a stranger could look.

Elena was still at work thankfully, which meant I didn’t have to explain why I was leaving the apartment dressed like I was preparing for a nervous breakdown.

I grabbed my small purse from the bed before staring at myself one last time.

“You can still cancel.” I muttered.

And honestly? I almost did.

But then I remembered my landlord. Again.

That man truly deserved an award for haunting people financially. With a sigh, I left the apartment.

The hotel lounge Victor chose looked expensive enough to reject poor people automatically.

The second I stepped inside, I regretted everything. Soft piano music echoed through the massive room while rich people sat around drinking things that definitely cost more than my weekly food budget.

A woman in a cream colored dress walked past me smelling so good, I could eat her.

I checked my phone again. Seven minutes early.

Great. Now I had extra time to panic.

I stood awkwardly near the entrance before spotting my reflection in one of the glass walls.

God, I looked nervous.

I quickly fixed my hair with my fingers before sitting carefully near the corner of the lounge.

The seat was so soft I nearly sank into it. This was definitely the kind of place where people discussed inheritance.

A waiter approached me politely.

“Good evening, miss. Would you like anything while you wait?”

Water. Only water.

Because if I accidentally ordered something expensive, they might escort me outside.

“Just water please.”

“Still or sparkling?”

I blinked. “Normal.”

The waiter smiled professionally. “Still water then.”

Rich people truly complicated everything. I exhaled slowly after he left and glanced around again.

Nobody here looked stressed. Nobody looked like they stayed awake calculating rent dates. Everybody looked… secure.

The realization made something ache quietly inside my chest. Maybe that was why this entire situation tempted me so much.

Security. Not romance. Not marriage. Not billionaire fantasies. Maybe that a little

But mostly just the possibility of finally breathing without fear. I rubbed my fingers together nervously under the table.

What if this was a mistake? Actually no. It was a mistake.

The question was whether it was the kind I could survive.

“Miss Glen.” I nearly jumped.

Victor stood beside the table looking exactly how I remembered. The man genuinely looked like he belonged on magazine covers.

“Jesus,” I breathed. “You move quietly.”

“My apologies.”

“You scared me.” I said, trying to calm my fast beating heart.

“That wasn’t my intention.” He sat across from me smoothly while the waiter immediately appeared beside him like he had been summoned telepathically.

“Your usual, sir?” He asked.

“Yes.” Victor replied with a nod. He looked toward me.

“Have you eaten?”

“Not really.” I answered.

“What would you like?”

“Something cheap.” One of his brows lifted slightly.

“This hotel doesn’t serve cheap things.”

“That sounds classist.” And stereotypical.

A small smile touched his lips briefly. “I suppose it does.”

I stared at him suspiciously. The fact he occasionally smiled somehow made him less intimidating.

Which honestly felt dangerous.

The waiter returned with my water while Victor ordered coffee and something in French that I definitely couldn’t pronounce.

Once the waiter left again, silence settled briefly between us.

Victor studied me calmly. “You almost didn’t come.”

How do you know that?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes.

“You seem nervous.”

“That’s because this situation is insane.”

“Fair.” He shrugged.

I leaned forward slightly. “Before anything else, I need answers.”

“You may ask.”

“Why me?” I needed to know that.

Victor folded his hands calmly. “You were recommended.”

“You said that already.”

“And it remains true.”

“By who?”

“I can’t disclose that.”

“That sounds suspicious.” I frowned.

“I understand.” He said with a small smile.

I sighed tiredly. “Okay fine. Why marriage?”

Victor was quiet for a second. “My employer requires a wife.”

“That explains absolutely nothing.”

“He values privacy.”

“So he marries strangers?”

“Contractually.”

“That somehow still sounds illegal.”

“It isn’t.” Yeah, you’re a lawyer. You’d know that.

I stared at him. “Is he old?”

“No. Quite young, actually.”

“Ugly?”

Victor actually looked amused. No.”

“Dying?”

He gave me a look and I shrugged. “No.”

“Criminal?”

“That depends on your definition.”

I blinked. “What does that mean?”

“It means powerful people rarely remain completely innocent.” That answer somehow unsettled me more than if he had simply lied.

The waiter arrived with Victor’s coffee and my food before leaving again. I stared at the tiny plate in front of me.

“This looks expensive.”

“It is.” He replied.

“Wonderful.”

Victor took a slow sip of coffee. “You researched me.” It wasn’t a question. So i shrugged slightly.

“You told me to.”

“And?”

“And you’re either legitimate or the most dedicated scammer alive.”

His mouth twitched slightly. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

I picked at the food carefully. “So what exactly happens if I agree?”

Victor set his cup down quietly. “You relocate to the estate.”

Estate. Not house. Not apartment. Estate..

“You’ll be compensated generously.” He continued.

“How generously?”I asked as I tried to act uninterested.

“Let’s say $60k.” He said with barely any interest.

I nearly choked. “What?”

“That would be your monthly allowance.”

Monthly. Monthly? I stared at him like he had personally offended me.

“That’s more money than I’ve made in two years.”

“I’m aware.”

My brain genuinely struggled processing the number. That amount could do outrageous things in my life. The terrifying part? Victor knew exactly how tempting it sounded.

I sat back slowly. “What’s the catch?”

“There are rules.” There it was. Of course there were rules.

“There’s always a catch,” I muttered.

Victor reached into his briefcase before handing me a thin black folder. Inside were neatly typed pages.

Rules.

Very normal thing to read before fake marrying a billionaire. I skimmed quickly.

Rule one, Do not leave the estate without permission.

My brows furrowed immediately. “Permission?”

“For security reasons.” He said with a shrug.

“Whose security?”

“You’ll be informed later.” That definitely sounded horrifying. I continued reading.

Restricted areas. No visitors. Confidentiality agreements. Then finally, you are not to seek Mr. Kane directly.

I looked up immediately. “Excuse me?”

Victor remained calm. “Mr. Kane prefers limited interaction initially.”

I laughed once. Actually laughed.

“How exactly do you marry someone without seeing them?”

Victor didn’t laugh back. The amusement slowly died inside me.

Oh. He was serious.

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

That’s insane.”

“It’s temporary.” He said.

“How temporary?” I asked.

“That depends.”

“Depends on what?”

Victor held my gaze calmly. “Compatibility.”

I stared at him. Then slowly closed the folder. “No.”

Victor remained still. “No?”

“No sane person agrees to this.”

“Perhaps.”

“Perhaps?”

“But sane people are rarely desperate.” The words hit harder than they should have. I looked away immediately.

Outside the hotel windows, evening lights glowed across the city beautifully. People walked past laughing, living normal lives. Meanwhile mine somehow kept drifting toward madness.

Victor’s voice softened slightly. “You may still refuse.”

I hated that he said it gently because it almost sounded like concern. I swallowed carefully.

“Why does your boss know so much about me?”

“He likes certainty.”

“That sounds controlling.”

“It is.” At least he was honest. That somehow made things worse.

I rubbed my forehead tiredly. “What kind of man is Adrian Kane?”

For the first time since arriving, Victor hesitated slightly. Interesting. “He’s misunderstood.”

“That sounds like something said before documentaries.”

Victor ignored that. “He’s private. Calculating. Careful.”

“Dangerous?”

“To some people.” He said with a wink. That answer sat heavily between us. I looked back down at the folder again.

“Why do I feel like nobody’s telling me the full truth?”

Victor met my gaze calmly. “Because nobody is.”

God. That should have been my cue to leave.

Instead, I whispered. “If I agree… when do I move?”

“Tonight.”

My head snapped up immediately. “Tonight?”

“Mr. Kane dislikes delays.” Of course he did. Psychopath behavior.

I stared at Victor for several seconds before nodding.

Victor looked unsurprised. Which annoyed me.

“You already knew I’d agree.”

“You needed options.”

“No,” I corrected quietly. “I needed money.”

The drive to the estate felt wrong immediately as the city lights slowly disappeared behind us while the roads grew quieter.

The further we drove, the more isolated everything became. I stared out the tinted window while unease settled slowly into my stomach. This genuinely felt like the beginning of a kidnapping documentary.

Victor sat beside me calmly scrolling through something on his phone. “How far is this place?”

“About twenty minutes.”

“That’s concerning.”

He glanced at me briefly. “You’re still free to leave.”

“That offer feels less believable now that we’re in the middle of nowhere.”

A small smile touched his mouth again. Then suddenly my skin prickled. My phone buzzed suddenly and I jumped slightly before realizing it wasn’t mine.

Victor’s.

He glanced at the message briefly.but Then without explanation, adjusted the temperature controls in the car till it got warmer.

I looked out the window again slowly. The trees grew denser around the road. Until finally, massive black gates appeared ahead.

My breath caught slightly. Jesus. The gates alone looked richer than my entire bloodline. They slowly opened before the driver even stopped.

I frowned immediately. “How did they know we were here?”

“They always know.” Victor answered calmly.

Not terrifying at all. The estate beyond the gates was enormous. Not mansion enormous. Soft lights illuminated long pathways while dark trees surrounded the property like silent guards.

Then finally the mansion itself appeared. And God, I forgot how to breathe for a second.

Beautiful didn’t cut out for it. The entire place looked less like a home and more like something built for people with dangerous amounts of money.

The car finally stopped and silence settled heavily. I stared up at the mansion slowly.

“What the hell…”

Victor opened his door first. “Welcome to the Kane estate.”

I stepped out carefully. The night air felt colder here somehow. The front doors opened before we even reached them.

I froze slightly. Nobody stood there. The doors had opened automatically.

Yeah.

Definitely haunted billionaire behavior. Inside somehow looked even more expensive. The floors gleamed beneath soft lights while massive windows overlooked darkness outside.

A woman dressed in black approached us quietly. “Good evening, Mr. Hale.” She greeted.

“Mrs. Laurent,” Victor greeted calmly.

Her eyes shifted toward me briefly. Not curious. Just assessing. “Miss Glen’s room has been prepared.”

Victor nodded once. “Thank you.”

Mrs. Laurent disappeared silently afterward as I watched her leave before whispering:

“She walks like she knows secrets.” Victor ignored that completely. Of course he did.

As we walked deeper into the mansion, I noticed something else. Cameras. Small ones. Hidden carefully in corners.

My stomach tightened again. Victor suddenly stopped walking. So suddenly I nearly walked into him.

A voice echoed softly through hidden speakers somewhere above us. Male and deep.

“Victor.” Every hair on my body rose instantly.

Victor straightened slightly. “Yes sir.”

The silence afterward somehow felt heavier before the voice spoke again. This time, it gave me chills.

“Welcome home, Amara.”