Six

<ARIANA>

"Your grandmother's life is in your hands now, Ariana."

I stumbled backward onto the bed. My knees went weak, and the tears came before I could stop them.

"Don't you dare hurt her. Do you hear me?"

Jack rose from the chair and adjusted his cuffs. Slow. Unhurried. Like we were discussing the weather.

"Why not? You're refusing to cooperate."

He cleared his throat.

"Your grandmother's life is in your hands now, Ariana. What are you going to do? Sign the contract and give her a chance to live, or refuse and face the consequences?"

I swallowed hard.

His words landed somewhere I keep buried — the bruised part of me, the part that has spent years terrified of losing the only family I have left. The part that still checks the phone every night, waiting for the call.

Why Grandma?

Why did he have to bring her into this?

I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to her.

But I also couldn't marry a man like him. He'd already made my life difficult. Now he was making survival feel impossible.

Grandma is all I have.

I can't let him see how badly he's broken me. I won't.

Of all the people he could have threatened — why her?

"Are you done?" Jack said.

He walked to a cupboard and pulled out a file. It was dusty and old, like it had been sitting there for years without anyone touching it. He brushed the dust off the cover and set it on the table.

"This is the contract."

He opened it, turned the pages, and pushed it toward me. Then he dropped a pen beside it and tapped his finger against the paper.

I forced myself to stand straight.

"What do I get in return?"

His eyes stayed on me.

"Anything you want."

I stared at him.

"Anything?"

"Name it."

"But what exactly do I get?"

"Only on my terms."

I laughed. Quiet. Bitter. The kind of laugh that comes out when there's nothing else left.

"So it's still about control."

He sniffed impatiently.

"Are you signing or not?"

I looked down at the page. The bold words at the top stared back at me. A new life. A new chain.

How cruel can life keep being?

If I was going to take this step, I might as well get everything I could out of it. Even if I didn't make it out the other side.

I clenched the pen until it pressed into my palm. Then I wrote my name.

"Is that all you need?"

Jack stared at my signature for a moment. Then he took the pen and signed beneath mine, his handwriting bold enough to cover the whole page.

"It's done."

I shifted in my seat.

"Can I go now?"

He looked at me.

"Go where?"

He grabbed his jacket from the chair.

"Home. I'm already late for work. I can't get sacked for being late."

"Oh." He lifted the jacket slowly. "There's no need for that."

"What?" I snapped. "What the hell do you expect me to do? Sit here and do nothing because I signed some contract?"

He studied me with a cold expression.

"Listen carefully, Ariana. From the moment you signed that paper, your rights — and everything you do — are controlled by me."

"What?"

I folded my arms.

"How the hell am I supposed to feed myself? And what exactly do you mean when you say I can't do anything without your permission? Do I need your permission to drink a glass of water too?"

He opened the door.

"I've already settled your debts and your grandmother's hospital bills. Now get your ass out. We have somewhere to be."

His footsteps faded down the hallway.

"What the hell does he mean by my debts?" I muttered.

I covered my mouth with my hand and slowly stepped down from the bed.

If everything is settled, then I'm in even more debt to him now.

---

<JACK>

I walked slowly toward the black sedan. When I glanced over my shoulder, Ariana was following behind me.

"Get in."

She stared at me for a moment. Then she climbed in.

"Where are we going?" she asked as soon as I got in and the car pulled away.

"Somewhere."

I kept my eyes on the window.

She let out an irritated sigh and looked away.

"Life couldn't get any shittier," she muttered.

I didn't answer. The drive stretched on in silence. I checked my watch three times before finally turning into one of my hidden penthouses.

I glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

"We're here."

I parked and stepped outside. Ariana followed.

We walked past the garden. The door opened automatically as we approached.

Angela, the housekeeper, stepped forward. Middle-aged. Steady hands. The only person in my life who's never once flinched at me.

"Welcome, Mr. Jack," she said, bowing slightly.

"Get her ready before he gets here."

She nodded and gestured for Ariana to follow her inside.

Ariana looked back at me one last time before disappearing through the door.

My phone buzzed. I answered.

"Report."

"Boss," Vince said from the other end. "We're on our way."

---

<ARIANA> 

The house smelled clean and fresh.

It was dark, but not dead. Something about it felt alive — the way old houses do when people have actually lived in them.

Angela tapped me lightly on the shoulder.

"This way, please."

I followed her through the massive doors. They looked like the entrances to caves, waiting to swallow whatever walked in next.

She led me into a smaller room and gestured toward a chair.

"Sit, dear."

I sat slowly.

"How are you feeling?"

I froze.

No one had asked me that in a long time. Not even Grandma. Not in a way that meant it.

"I'm fine, I guess."

"It's okay, dear." She patted my hand. "You'll get used to it. Take a shower if you like. There's warm water."

She turned toward the door.

"Wait."

Angela paused.

"Is this the first time this is happening?"

She shook her head.

"No. Just get ready."

Then she closed the door behind her.

I stared at the empty doorway.

What does she mean, get used to it? And what does she mean, this isn't the first time?

She looked like a kinder, better version of Jack.

But who knows. Maybe she's just like him.

I walked toward the bathroom and stared at the steaming water. The place was beautiful. Too beautiful for someone like me.

My phone buzzed.

I went back to the bed and picked it up, glancing around the room.

"Ariana."

A soft laugh came through the phone. A woman's laugh. Slow. Deliberate.

"So that's your name."

My body went stiff.

"Who is this?"

"Don't you know what I do to girls who try to take what belongs to me?"

My heart dropped.

Skylark.

She had my number.

But how?

And what else had she found out about me?