Chapter 5

"How do I know?" He set the tablet aside. "Because I've been watching you for three years. Every move. Every struggle. Every desperate choice."

"Why?" The question came out as a whisper.

"We'll get to that." He leaned back, his gray eyes never leaving my face. "First, let me tell you what I want."

"What do you want?"

"Direct. I like that." The corner of his mouth twitched, not quite a smile. "I want you to marry me."

The words didn't make sense. I stared at him, waiting for the punchline. "What?"

"Marriage. You've heard of it."

"You're insane." I reached for the door handle. "I don't even know you."

His hand shot out, gripping my wrist. Not hard enough to hurt, but firm enough to stop me. "You know enough. I'm rich. You're desperate. It's a perfect arrangement."

"Let go of me."

He released my wrist, but his eyes held me in place. "We're going to my penthouse. You'll hear my offer. Then you'll make a choice. But Aria.." He leaned closer. "Once we arrive, you don't leave until we have an agreement. One way or another."

The car was already moving.

++++++++

Veyron Tower cut into the night sky like a blade of glass and steel. The elevator rose fifty floors in silence, my ears popping from the altitude. I'd never been this high up in my life. Through the glass walls, the city spread below us—a sea of lights that made me dizzy.

The penthouse doors opened directly into his apartment. Everything was white, black, and silver. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city. Abstract art hung on walls that probably cost more than I'd make in my lifetime. This wasn't a home. It was a showroom for wealth. Damian walked to a bar cart, poured himself whiskey. He didn't offer me any.

"Why me?" I asked, my voice small in the huge space. "You could marry anyone."

He didn't answer. Instead, he walked to a massive desk, opened a folder, and spread photos across the polished surface.

Photos of my father. In expensive suits. Signing documents in boardrooms. Shaking hands with men in power.

"Because I knew your father." Damian's voice was flat. "He worked for my company. Meridian Pharmaceuticals."

My legs felt weak. "Dad never mentioned.."

"Didn't he?" Damian pulled out another photo, a newspaper clipping. The headline screamed: PHARMACEUTICAL SCANDAL: 14 DEAD FROM FAULTY MEDICATION. "My brother David died because a drug wasn't recalled in time. Your father was the lead legal counsel. He had evidence that would have stopped the product launch, saved lives."

"No." I shook my head. "Dad would never.."

"He destroyed that evidence for five hundred thousand dollars." Damian's voice was ice. "My nineteen-year-old brother took his medication like the doctor ordered. Three weeks later, his organs were shutting down. He died screaming in pain while your father was buying your mother jewelry with blood money."

The room spun. I grabbed the desk to steady myself. "That's not true."

"Isn't it?" He moved closer, his presence overwhelming. "Then where did the money come from for your nice house? Your private schools? Your mother's designer clothes?"

Memories flooded back. Dad's stress. The secret phone calls. His last words: I did it for you girls.

"The night your parents died," Damian continued, his voice soft and terrible, "your father was running. He knew I'd found out. The car accident wasn't an accident, Aria. It was a man running from justice who lost control."

Tears burned my eyes. "Stop."

"No." He pulled out a contract, slid it across the desk. "You need to understand exactly what you are to me. You're not a person. You're a debt payment. Your father took from me, so I'm taking his daughter."

I stared at the papers. "Even if everything you said is true, I didn't do anything. Why punish me?"

"Because you're all he has left." Damian's smile was cruel. "He's dead. I can't make him suffer. But I can make you suffer in his place. Every day you'll remember that you sold yourself because of what he did."

"You're a monster."

"Yes." He pushed the contract closer. "But I'm a monster who can save your sister. Marriage. One year minimum. You'll live here, attend events as my wife, play the part publicly."

"And in return?"

"Your sister gets the treatment. Full recovery. I'll pay for college when she's ready. Your rent is paid. You'll have an allowance for necessities."

I looked at the contract, my hands shaking. "What's the catch?"

Damian leaned close, his breath warm against my ear. "The catch is you'll be mine. Completely. Every breath, every step, every thought belongs to me. You'll smile when I tell you to smile. Dress how I tell you to dress. Be the perfect, obedient wife."

"I'm not a possession."

"Yes, you are." He straightened. "That's exactly what you are. A debt payment. Nothing more."

I stood on trembling legs. "I won't do it."

Damian pulled out his phone, showed me the screen. A photo of Lila in her hospital bed, taken tonight. The timestamp read 1:47 AM.

My blood turned to ice.

"I own Saint Michael's Hospital." His voice was casual, like he was discussing the weather. "One word from me, and your sister's treatment stops immediately. She doesn't get two weeks. She gets two days. Maybe less."

My legs gave out. I grabbed the desk, gasping for air.

"Sign the papers, and she lives." He set a pen beside the contract. "Walk away, and you bury her by Monday. Your choice."

"You're a monster," I whispered again.

"Yes. But I'm a monster who holds your sister's life in his hands." He checked his watch. "So what's it going to be, Aria? I need an answer. Now."

I thought of Lila's smile. Her laugh. The way she'd said ‘I love you’ just hours ago. She was sixteen. She deserved a life. She deserved to grow up, fall in love, have dreams that didn't involve hospital beds and IV drips.

I picked up the pen.

"If I do this..." My voice broke. "You swear she'll get the treatment? Everything she needs?"

"You have my word." For the first time, something flickered in his eyes, not quite human, but close. "I'm many things, but I keep my promises."

I signed. Each letter felt like a piece of my soul dying. Aria Chen. My signature, small and shaky next to his bold, confident scrawl. Damian smiled. It was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen.

"Welcome to the family, future Mrs. Veyron."

+++++++++

A man named Marcus appeared to escort me out. As we walked through the penthouse, I heard voices from another room. A woman's laugh, sultry, confident, intimate.

A door opened. A woman emerged wearing a silk robe that barely covered anything. She was beautiful in a predatory way, sharp cheekbones, perfect makeup even at this hour, long dark hair cascading over her shoulders.

Her eyes found Damian. "Darling, are you coming back to bed?"

I froze. Damian appeared behind me. "Selene, meet Aria. My fiancée."

The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. Selene's gaze swiveled to me, her expression shifting from confusion to fury to cold calculation in seconds. "Your *what*?"

"It's just business, darling." Damian's tone was almost bored. "Nothing for you to worry about."

Selene looked at me like I was something she'd scraped off her shoe. "I see. How... quaint."

Marcus touched my elbow, guiding me toward the elevator. As the doors began to close, I heard Selene's voice, sharp with disbelief:

"You can't be serious. That little nobody?"

Damian's response was quiet but clear. "She serves a purpose. She'll learn her place."

The elevator descended. Fifty floors. Each one taking me further from that penthouse but deeper into the trap I'd willingly walked into.I'd entered hell. And there was no way out…