All Chapters of Signed into his trap : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

45 Chapters

Sterling Manor

Valeria woke up disoriented.For several seconds, she stared at the unfamiliar ceiling above her and couldn't remember where she was.The room was silent. A different kind of silence altogether.The kind created by thick walls, expensive architecture, and enough space between rooms that sounds disappeared before they could travel.Then she remembered.Sterling Manor.The wedding.The contract.The marriage.Reality settled back into place. Slowly and uncomfortably.She sat up and looked around.The bedroom was larger than her entire apartment.That realization irritated her more than it impressed her.Everything inside the room seemed carefully selected.Nothing excessive.Nothing flashy.Just expensive in a way that didn't need to announce itself.The curtains alone probably cost more than her monthly rent.Former rent, she corrected herself.The thought felt strange.There was no rent anymore.No landlord threatening eviction.No overdue notices taped to her door.Those problems bel

Playing Wife

By the end of her third day at Sterling Manor, Valeria had learned two important things.First, wealthy people had rules for everything.Second, nobody seemed interested in telling her all of them at once.The lessons arrived gradually.Like traps.One mistake at a time.On Tuesday morning, Margaret informed her she had an appointment at ten.Valeria looked up from her coffee."An appointment with who?"Margaret hesitated."A consultant."That answer immediately made her suspicious."What kind of consultant?"Margaret's expression remained perfectly neutral."Etiquette."Valeria nearly choked."What?""Etiquette training."The words sounded absurd.She stared at Margaret.Margaret stared back.Neither spoke.Finally, Valeria pointed at herself."You're serious.""Very."Twenty minutes later, she found herself sitting across from a woman named Celeste Montgomery.Celeste looked like she had been born judging table manners.Everything about her was immaculate.Hair.Clothing.Posture.E

The Headlines

The internet decided who Valeria Sterling was before she had a chance to introduce herself.By noon, thousands of people had formed opinions.By evening, millions had.The headlines multiplied faster than anyone could contain them."The Truth Behind Mrs. Sterling's Financial Troubles.""From Debt to Diamonds: How Valeria Cole Became a Billionaire's Wife.""Was Love Ever Part of the Equation?"That last one appeared on nearly every platform.Television panels debated it.Podcasts dissected it.Comment sections devoured it.People who had never met her suddenly felt qualified to explain her entire life.Valeria sat alone in her bedroom scrolling through the coverage.She should have stopped.She knew that.But curiosity can be cruel.Especially when directed at yourself.The comments were worse than the articles.Much worse.Some people sympathized.Most didn't.According to strangers online, she was opportunistic.Manipulative.Calculated.A woman who had strategically targeted one of

Cracks in the Story

The feeling started small.So small that Valeria almost ignored it.A glance. A pause. A conversation ending a second too quickly.Nothing substantial.Nothing she could point to as evidence.Just tiny moments that lingered longer than they should have.Normally, she would have dismissed them.Life at Sterling Manor was already complicated enough without inventing mysteries.Unfortunately, the moments kept happening.And eventually, even small things begin adding up.Three days after the press conference, Valeria joined Julius and Rebecca for breakfast.The meeting wasn't social.Nothing involving Rebecca Hayes was ever social.The lawyer had arrived early with several folders and a schedule that looked exhausting.Valeria entered the dining room midway through a discussion.Julius was speaking.Rebecca was taking notes.Victoria sat nearby.That alone wasn't unusual anymore.Since the wedding, Victoria had become a frequent presence at the manor.Sometimes for business reasons.Somet

An Unexpected Ally

The silence after the creaking floorboard lasted less than two seconds.To Valeria, it felt much longer.Her pulse hammered against her ribs.The corridor suddenly seemed too narrow.Too quiet. Too exposed.On the other side of the corner, neither Julius nor Victoria spoke.The conversation had died instantly.Valeria stood frozen. Part of her wanted to leave. Another part wanted to walk around the corner and demand answers.What exactly wasn't she supposed to find out?Why were they discussing her as if she were a problem to manage?And why had Victoria sounded worried?The questions collided inside her head.Before she could decide what to do, footsteps approached.Valeria reacted immediately.She turned and walked away as naturally as possible.Not too fast. Not too slow.By the time she reached the library, her heart was still racing.She sat down. Opened a random book.Stared at the same page for ten minutes without reading a single word.Something was wrong. She could feel it.T

Candidate Number Four

The phrase followed Valeria for three days.You weren't the first candidate.No matter what she was doing, it resurfaced.While having breakfast.While visiting Ethan.While pretending to pay attention during another charity event.The words lingered at the edge of every thought.Candidate.Not wife.Not partner.Not spouse.Candidate.The language bothered her more than she cared to admit.Because candidates applied for jobs.Candidates were interviewed.Evaluated.Selected.Rejected.The word stripped away the illusion that any part of this arrangement had been personal.Not that she'd ever believed it was romantic.But hearing it framed that way made her feel like an item on a shortlist.A choice among options.A solution to a problem.The realization stung.More than it should have.By the fourth day, curiosity overwhelmed caution.She decided she needed answers.And the most obvious place to start was Margaret.Unfortunately, Margaret had become remarkably difficult to find.When

The Charity Gala

The invitation arrived on a Monday morning.Not that Valeria had any say in the matter.Rebecca informed her about it during breakfast with the same tone someone might use to announce the weather."The Sterling Foundation Gala is this Friday."Valeria looked up from her coffee."The what?""The Sterling Foundation Gala."Rebecca turned a page in her folder."Hundreds of guests. Business leaders, investors, politicians, donors, media representatives."Valeria slowly lowered her cup."That sounds terrible."Across the table, Julius didn't look up from the financial report he was reading."It isn't.""It absolutely is.""It lasts four hours.""You're not helping."For the first time that morning, the corner of Julius's mouth moved.Not quite a smile.But close.Valeria immediately pointed at him."See? That expression right there.""What expression?""The one where you're secretly enjoying my suffering.""I have no idea what you're talking about."Rebecca continued reading from her sched

A Dangerous Kiss

The problem wasn't the kiss.The problem was everything that happened before it.At least, that's what Valeria told herself later.Because kisses didn't happen in isolation.They happened because of conversations.Because of glances.Because of moments that accumulated quietly until neither person could pretend they meant nothing.The trouble was that she and Julius had accumulated far too many moments.And neither of them had noticed how dangerous that had become.Or perhaps they had.Perhaps they had simply ignored it.Three days after discovering the missing file, the atmosphere inside Sterling Manor felt strained.Valeria was still angry.The kind of anger that settled beneath the surface and refused to leave.Julius hadn't offered any explanations.Rebecca had become impossible to corner.Victoria was acting increasingly distracted.And Margaret had somehow become even more careful about what she said.Every answer led to another question.Every question led nowhere.By Thursday

Jealousy

Victoria barely stayed five minutes after witnessing the kiss.She offered some excuse about an early meeting.Nobody challenged it.Nobody stopped her.And nobody mentioned what had happened in the library.Not that there was much to say.The moment Victoria disappeared, an uncomfortable silence settled over the room.Valeria became painfully aware of everything.The fire.The rain.The distance between her and Julius.Most of all, the kiss itself.It had happened.There was no pretending otherwise.No rational explanation.No convenient misunderstanding.It had happened.And judging from Julius's expression, he was thinking the exact same thing.Neither of them looked at each other.For almost a full minute.Finally, Julius cleared his throat."This complicates things."Valeria stared at the fireplace."That's one way to put it."Another silence followed.Long.Awkward.Embarrassing.Then Julius did something unexpected.He apologized.Not dramatically.Not emotionally.Simply."I'm

The First Lie

The problem with doubt was that once it appeared, it rarely stayed in one place.It spread.Quietly.Patiently.Like a crack beneath paint.At first, Valeria had dismissed the recent mistakes as unfortunate coincidences.People forgot things.Schedules changed.Emails disappeared.Administrative errors happened.Especially in organizations as large as Sterling Holdings.But eventually even coincidence starts demanding too much faith.And lately, faith felt expensive.The realization followed her into the hospital.Ethan had been discharged from intensive monitoring two days earlier.A milestone everyone seemed eager to celebrate.Including Ethan himself.The doctors remained cautious, but hopeful.Hopeful was a word Valeria had once been afraid to trust.Now she held onto it carefully.Like something fragile.Something precious.She sat beside his bed while he flipped through television channels."The nurses miss me already."Valeria rolled her eyes."They're celebrating.""Rude.""Ac

1 2 3 4 5

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP