The trap

FOUR

​Emily

​“This is absurd,” I snapped, slamming my palm down against the polished mahogany conference table. The sharp crack echoed off the glass walls of the high-rise room. “I am the sitting President of this board. No merger moves forward without my explicit, written signature.”

​“With all due respect, Miss DelaRosa,” the Hernandez Group’s head attorney chimed in, smoothly adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses before turning the thick leather document to the signature page. “Your father held sixty percent voting control at the time of signing. The clause is entirely self-executing upon the five-year mark of his passing. Your signature is merely a formality—the transition is already legally underway.”

​My chest tightened, a cold sensation washing over me. The feeling of control slipping through my fingers was suffocating. My father had built Gifted Hands Hospital with his bare hands, pouring his sweat, soul, and integrity into its foundation. Why on earth would he secretly tie our fate to our largest, most ruthless commercial competitor?

​Before I could voice the storm of questions rising in my throat, the heavy oak doors of the boardroom swung open.

​Every single head at the table turned.

​Seth walked in.

​He had completely shed his casual, wind-swept outreach clothes from yesterday. In their place, he wore a bespoke dark navy three-piece suit that screamed power, wealth, and absolute precision. Broad-shouldered and sharp-jawed, he looked every bit the formidable executive surgeon he had been bred to be.

​Our eyes locked across the long expanse of the table. He didn't look remotely surprised to see me here; his striking dark eyes were completely unreadable.

​“You’re late, Seth,” Richard noted, his voice calm and unbothered as he gestured toward the empty seat at the head of the table.

​“My flight out of Cornwall was delayed,” Seth said, his deep, resonant voice effortlessly cutting through the thick tension in the room. He pulled out the high-backed leather chair directly opposite mine and sat down, moving with a fluid, infuriating grace.

​“Did you know about this?” I demanded immediately, my fingers digging into the edge of the wood as I glared across the polished surface at him.

​Seth leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on the armrests as he studied my volatile reaction with calculated, clinical stillness. “I was informed of the finalization details yesterday evening.”

​“So you played along at the outreach, pretending nothing was wrong, knowing my entire life was being dismantled behind my back?” I asked, raw anger lacing every syllable.

​“I don’t play games, Emily,” Seth replied steadily, his gaze holding mine without a single flicker of hesitation. “And this wasn't my decision. It was our fathers’.”

​“I don't care whose decision it was—I refuse,” I said, tearing my eyes away from him to glare at my own board members. “We will fight this in court. We will file an immediate injunction today.”

​My lead corporate attorney slowly lowered his head, refusing to meet my eyes. “We thoroughly reviewed the confidential file last night, Emily. The ironclad financial penalty for breaking the merger clause is the immediate liquidation of Gifted Hands’ physical assets to cover default damages. If you fight this in court, the hospital goes bankrupt by next month.”

​I stood frozen, the blood draining from my face. They had boxed me in. They had trapped me from every single angle.

​“There is one final clause,” Richard announced quietly into the stunned, heavy silence of the room.

​I turned back to Richard, my jaw set, every muscle in my body braced for impact. “What clause?”

​Richard exchanged a brief, silent glance with Seth before turning his eyes directly onto me. “To ensure the unified ownership of both health systems and completely prevent internal hostile takeovers, the original contract includes an irrevocable personal union clause.”

​My stomach churned violently. “Speak plain English, Mr. Hernandez.”

​“You and Seth are to be married before the final merger documents are executed next month.”

​The air was instantly sucked right out of the room.

​“What?!” I shot to my feet so fast my chair scraped violently against the floorboards. “Are you out of your collective minds? This is the twenty-first century! You cannot force a marriage contract on two adults!”

​I snapped my head toward Seth, expecting him to object, expecting him to call out this utter insanity alongside me.

​Seth remained sitting. He slowly lifted one hand, brushing his thumb along his lower lip in that subtle, infuriating habit of his. His dark eyes remained fixed on mine with terrifying, unshakeable composure.

​“Can this get any better?” he murmured flatly, his voice devoid of any surprise.

​“I will not marry him!” I practically yelled, my voice ringing off the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. “I’d rather burn this hospital to the ground than sell myself off!”

​“Refusal triggers the exact same default liquidation clause, Dr. DelaRosa,” the lead attorney warned gently, keeping his palms flat on the table. “The hospital will be dissolved.”

​“I have a life! I have boundaries!” I argued, my breathing coming in ragged, shallow gasps as desperation threatened to break through my professional composure. “What if I have a partner? What if I have a boyfriend?!”

​Seth leaned forward slowly, resting his forearms against the dark wood, closing the physical space between us with the weight of his gaze alone.

​“Then I suggest,” Seth said, his voice dropping to a low, quiet command that sent a cold shiver racing down my spine, “you go home and break the news to him.”

​He held my frantic, furious gaze without flinching, his expression unyielding.

​“Because from this moment on… he doesn’t matter.”