Chapter 6: The Breaking Point

Jade felt like she had been slapped. The office tilted around her.

The Redwood File. Her father hadn’t died in an accident. He had been murdered by Arthur Ashford. And Lucian knew.

She stared at the crushed black dahlia in her hand, the dark juice staining her fingers. Every moment of the last four years felt like a lie. She had given her body and her dignity to the son of her father’s killer.

The inner office door opened. Lucian stepped out, adjusting his cufflinks. He stopped when he saw her pale face and the crushed petals on her desk. His obsidian eyes narrowed instantly.

"What happened?" Lucian demanded, his voice sharp. He strode over, his eyes scanning the desk. "Did Sebastian come back out here?"

Jade quickly threw the ruined flower into the trash. She forced her voice to remain flat. "No. I just dropped something."

Lucian didn't believe her. He stepped into her space, his fingers wrapping firmly around her jaw. He lifted her face, his thumb pressing into her skin. "You're shaking, Jade. Don't lie to me. What did he say to you?"

Jade looked into the eyes she had trusted for years. She wanted to scream. She wanted to ask him right now if he knew about her father. But she remembered the outline of the trap. If she slipped up, she would lose everything.

"He just reminded me that I don't belong here," Jade whispered, her heart breaking. "He reminded me about Victoria."

Lucian’s expression hardened into a cold, arrogant mask. He let go of her chin and stepped back, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Sebastian is noise. I told you to ignore him. Your only job is to follow my instructions."

His sudden coldness felt like a knife. He was putting up his usual wall, masking his fear behind cruelty. But to Jade, it just looked like guilt.

Before she could reply, the private elevator chimed.

Arthur Ashford stepped out. Beside him was a beautiful woman with sharp features and a wealthy, cold aura. Victoria Stirling.

Jade stood up immediately, her professional instinct taking over despite the panic in her chest.

"Arthur," Lucian said, his posture turning rigid and defensive. "What is this?"

Arthur didn't look at his son. He looked directly at Jade, a cruel smile on his face. "Lucian, we’ve come to solve your little distraction. The Stirling family has been very generous."

Victoria stepped forward, her heels clicking loudly against the marble. She looked at Jade with pure condescension. "You must be the secretary. Jade, isn't it? My father and the Ashfords have agreed on a perfect arrangement for you."

Jade felt the air leave her lungs. "An arrangement, ma'am?"

"My cousin, Theodore," Victoria said, her voice smooth and entirely heartless. "He needs a wife. Someone quiet, capable, and used to handling... difficult situations. The Stirlings will take over your mother’s medical bills permanently. In exchange, you will marry Theodore and move to our family estate in Connecticut next week."

Jade’s blood ran completely cold. Theodore Stirling. The Governor's intellectually disabled cousin. They didn't want a wife for him; they wanted a prison warden for a monster, and they wanted Jade locked away where she could never talk.

"No," Lucian barked, stepping directly in front of Jade’s desk. His eyes were wild with a sudden, lethal rage. "She is under contract to me. She isn't going anywhere."

Arthur chuckled, a dark, terrible sound. "The contract is paper, Lucian. I built this company, and I say she is a liability to the merger. If she refuses, her mother’s private infirmary funding is cut off by noon tomorrow. She will be back in a state cell within forty-eight hours."

Victoria smiled, looking at Jade's pale face. "It’s a very generous offer, Jade. You save your mother, and you get a wealthy surname. Think about it."

Jade couldn't speak. She looked at Lucian, silently begging him to fight for her, to tear up the merger, to say something that proved he cared.

But Lucian stood completely still. His jaw was clenched so hard it looked ready to snap. He looked at his father, then at Victoria. The cold strategist took over his face. He knew he couldn't beat his father’s criminal network in open daylight. He had to play the long game to protect her, even if it destroyed her faith in him.

"Give us until tomorrow," Lucian said, his voice completely dead, devoid of all emotion. "I will review the transition files."

Jade felt her soul shatter. He was letting them do it. He wasn't going to save her.

"Excellent," Arthur said, turning back to the elevator. "Don't disappoint me, Lucian."

Victoria threw a final, mocking glance at Jade before the elevator doors closed, leaving the floor dead silent.

Jade sank slowly into her chair. She looked up at Lucian, her eyes hollow. "You're going to let them hand me over to a monster."

Lucian turned around. His face was a brutal, arrogant mask. He couldn't let her see his desperation. If his father suspected he loved her, Arthur would kill her before the week ended.

"It’s the smartest business move, Jade," Lucian said, his voice flat and cruel. "My father is right. The merger comes first. You knew what this contract was when you signed it."

"Get out," Jade whispered.

"Jade"

"Get out of my sight, Lucian!" she screamed, her pride finally exploding through her restraint.

Lucian’s eyes flashed with a deep, hidden agony, but he didn't break character. He turned on his heel and walked into his inner office, slamming the heavy oak door behind him.

Jade sat in the quiet reception area, tears finally spilling over her cheeks. She pressed both hands against her stomach. She was carrying his baby, and he had just sold her out for a stock price.

She couldn't trust him. She couldn't let the Ashfords take her child.

Shaking violently, Jade reached into her blazer pocket and pulled out her personal phone. She dialed the number Sebastian had left on a post-it note inside her desk.

The phone rang twice before a low, seductive purr answered.

"I knew you'd call, sweetheart," Sebastian chuckled.

"The offer for the Redwood File," Jade whispered, her voice tightening with raw determination. "Does it still stand?"

"Always. Where are you?"

"I'm leaving the building now," Jade said, her face hardening into a mask of pure survival. "Come get me. I'm choosing a side."