EPISODE 3 EAGER TO MEET HER

The handwritten note lay between Lily and the two men at the door. Its meaning was plain enough; the confidence behind it was what unsettled her.

 Marcel Richardson Bonaparte had made a decision about her before they had ever met.

Lily pushed the paper back across the table. “You can tell him I’m not going.”

The taller representative closed his folder. “Miss Hopkin, we’re here to explain the arrangements, not argue about them.”

“Then explain why a man I’ve never met thinks he can summon me.”

Her father hovered beside the dining chair, pale and tense. “Lily, please. Don’t make this worse.”

She turned on him. “Worse for whom? You signed the agreement. You knew they planned to come tonight. You had three weeks to tell me.”

His eyes dropped to the floor. The silence felt like another signature.

“I want an independent solicitor,” Lily said. “I want a copy of every page, including whatever terms you claim apply to me. Until someone explains my rights, I’m not going anywhere.”

“The settlement has been reviewed by our legal department,” the taller man replied.

“Your legal department works for the people who benefit from it. That isn’t independent advice.”

“You have a right to seek advice,” he said at last. “But the debt remains, and the agreement has already been executed by your parents.”

“Then pursue the people who signed it.”

Lily did not retreat. She forced herself to keep breathing.

“Your parents’ ability to repay is precisely the problem.”

Her mother flinched at the bluntness. She stood by the kitchen doorway, twisting a dish towel until her knuckles whitened.

“Please,” she said. “They promised your education would continue. You’d have a place to live. You wouldn’t have to worry about money.”

“I’m not worried about money. I’m worried about being handed to a stranger like an unpaid bill.”

“No one is handing you over,” her father said.

Lily pointed to the clause on the page. “What would you call this?”

He had no answer.

Footsteps sounded on the staircase. Daniel appeared, still wearing the faded university sweatshirt he used around the house. His gaze moved from Lily’s rigid posture to the men in suits, then to the documents spread across the table.

“What’s going on?”

“Go back upstairs,” their father said.

Daniel ignored him. “Why are there strangers in our house?”

“They represent the Richardson family,” Lily replied. “Apparently, our parents have arranged for me to live under Marcel Richardson Bonaparte’s control in exchange for clearing their debt.”

Daniel stared at her. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m not joking.”

He picked up the first page. His eyes tracked the figures, and the colour drained from his face. “You said the business was recovering.”

“I thought it could,” their father answered. “I was trying to keep this family together.”

“By giving Lily away?” Daniel’s voice cracked on the final word.

“Watch your tone.”

“No. You watch yours.” Daniel set the paper down carefully, as if touching it too roughly might make the truth worse. “You told us we had time.”

Their father’s jaw tightened. “We don’t.”

She took out her phone and opened Ravenwood University’s student support page. Her scholarship adviser had once explained that confidential help was available to students facing serious problems at home. The office was closed, but an emergency contact number and an online request form were listed.

She saved the details, then messaged Amara.

I need help tonight. My parents signed an agreement with the Richardsons, and they say I have to follow it. Can you call me?

The reply did not arrive immediately. Lily resisted the urge to stare at the screen. Instead, she photographed the contract page by page, making sure the signatures, dates, and clauses were legible. She sent the images to her university email and saved a second copy in a private folder.

The taller man noticed. “Those documents are not intended for public distribution.”

“I sent them to myself.”

“You should be careful.”

“I am being careful. That’s why I’m keeping a record.”

Her phone began to ring. Amara’s name appeared on the screen. Lily answered at once.

“Lily? What happened?”

She explained as quietly as she could, moving away from the table but keeping the men in view. Amara listened without interrupting.

“Don’t sign anything,” her friend said when Lily finished. “Don’t leave with them until you’ve spoken to someone independent. I’ll contact student support and find out what legal assistance is available. Are you safe right now?”

“I’m in my house. They haven’t touched me.”

“Stay with Daniel if you can. Keep the documents. I’m coming over.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I know. I’m coming anyway.”

The call ended. Lily looked at Daniel. He nodded once, moving closer to her side of the table.

Her father rubbed his face. “You’re making this harder than it has to be.”

“You keep saying that as if obedience would make it right.”

“They could take the house. The shop. Everything we have.”

“And you decided my freedom was the cheapest thing to trade.”

The taller representative checked his watch. “We’ll report that you’re refusing to attend tonight.”

“Report the whole conversation,” Lily said. “Include that I asked for independent advice and a complete copy of the agreement.”

He closed the folder. “That can be recorded.”

“Good.”

“Mr. Richardson has been clear that he wants to meet you personally. He does not appreciate being kept waiting.”

“Then he can learn to wait.”

The man’s expression cooled. “You may find that refusing him has consequences.”

“Everything you’ve done already has consequences.”

He held her gaze, then left without another word. The door shut, muting the rain and the sound of their retreating footsteps.

Daniel exhaled. “What happens now?”

“I find out what they can legally do,” Lily said. “Then I decide my next move.”

Her father looked at her with something close to panic. “You don’t understand the kind of family you’re challenging.”

“Then you should have thought of that before signing my name into their business.”

A car engine started outside. Through the window, Lily watched the representatives’ vehicle pull away. The rain blurred the empty street beyond the front window.

Her phone vibrated. Amara had sent a message: I’ve reached someone who can advise us. Keep your phone on.

Lily faced her father. “What happens if I refuse?”

He looked away.

“Dad. Tell me the truth.”

“You don’t understand what kind of family you’re challenging.”

“Then explain it.”

His phone began ringing. He checked the screen, and the little colour remaining in his face disappeared.

“Who is it?” Lily asked.

He silenced the call.

“The Richardson office,” he said.

“Then answer.”

“I can’t.”

“You can. You just don’t want to.”

The phone rang again. Her father answered and listened, his hand tightening around the device.

When he ended the call, her mother whispered, “What did they say?”

Her father looked at Lily.

“Marcel knows you refused to go.”

“That shouldn’t surprise him.”

“He isn’t asking you to come

anymore.” Her father swallowed. “He’s coming here.”

Lily’s anger sharpened. She had refused his summons. Now Marcel Richardson Bonaparte was bringing the confrontation to her.