CHAPTER 9: Dinner with the Devil

The hours dragged by like a slow death.

I spent the afternoon pacing the length of the living room, checking every window (locked), every door (sealed), and trying to find a signal on my phone (zero bars). I was a bird in a glass cage, high above the world.

At 7:00 PM exactly, the elevator chimed.

My stomach dropped. I was sitting on the sofa, feigning reading a magazine I had found on the coffee table. I didn't look up immediately. I needed a second to compose my face. Don't let him see the fear. Don't let him see the hatred.

"Good evening, Vivian."

Julian walked in. He had shed his suit jacket, but he was still wearing the vest and tie, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked tired, but the sharpness in his eyes hadn't dulled.

He was carrying a paper bag that smelled divine—Thai food.

"I didn't think you would want to cook on your first day," he said, setting the bag on the island. "And Mrs. Davis leaves at six."

"How thoughtful," I said, my voice flat. I stood up and walked to the kitchen, keeping the kitchen island between us as a barricade.

He began unpacking the cartons. Pad Thai. Green Curry. Spring rolls.

"Mrs. Davis tells me you had an... adventurous afternoon," Julian said casually, not looking up from the food.

My breath hitched. "I just wanted to go out."

"To the police station?" Julian asked. He looked up then. His gaze was heavy, pinning me to the spot. "Or perhaps to the airport?"

"I needed fresh air," I lied.

"The penthouse has a fully filtered HVAC system," he countered smoothly. He pushed a plate toward me. "Eat."

I stared at the food. "I'm not hungry."

"You are pregnant," he reminded me, his voice hardening. "Starving yourself doesn't hurt me. It hurts the child. Sit down and eat."

The mention of the baby broke my resistance. He was right. I pulled out a bar stool and sat down. He sat across from me.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. The only sound was the click of chopsticks against porcelain. It was suffocating.

"Why?" I asked suddenly, unable to hold it back.

Julian paused, a spring roll halfway to his mouth. "Why what?"

"Why lock me in?" I demanded, my hands shaking. "You have the contract. You have my signature. Why treat me like a prisoner?"

Julian set his chopsticks down. He picked up his glass of water, taking a slow sip.

"Because you are a flight risk, Vivian. And right now, you are the most valuable asset I possess."

"Is that all I am to you?" I spat. "An asset? A broodmare for your heir?"

Julian’s eyes darkened. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the marble.

"You are leverage," he said, his voice low and devoid of warmth. "Caleb thinks he sold you to pay a debt. He doesn't realize that by giving you to me, he handed me the weapon that will end his family’s legacy."

"I don't understand," I whispered. "What do I have to do with his family's legacy?"

"You will find out soon enough," Julian said. "For now, all you need to know is that outside these walls, you are vulnerable. Caleb is desperate. If he finds out where you are—and that you are my wife—he will try to get you back. Or worse... he will try to silence you."

"Silence me?"

"Dead women don't testify about embezzlement," Julian said bluntly.

A chill ran down my spine. "So you are... protecting me?"

"I am protecting my investment," he corrected.

He stood up, picking up his plate. "I have work to finish in the study. You can sleep in the bedroom. I will take the couch tonight."

I blinked, surprised. "You... you will?"

"I may be a monster, Vivian," he said, walking toward the hallway. He paused at the archway, looking back at me over his shoulder. His expression was unreadable. "But I am not a savage. I don't force women to share my bed if they are terrified of me."

He disappeared down the hall.

I sat there alone in the kitchen, confused. He had locked me in. He had files on my dead mother. He was using me for revenge.

And yet... he was giving me the bed.

I looked down the hallway at the closed door of the study. The forbidden door.

He was in there now. With the files.

I stood up. I wasn't going to sleep. I was going to wait.