All Chapters of Bound by Deception : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The lawyer, a sharp, no-nonsense woman named Priya Chandra, arrived within the hour, reviewing Eleanor's document with careful, methodical attention while Nadia and Damian waited anxiously nearby."It's old," Priya said finally, setting the papers down. "The letterhead checks out, the signature pattern matches records I can access from that era. I can't confirm authenticity without the original, but I also can't dismiss it outright.""Can it actually force a marriage?" Nadia asked."Trust agreements like this are unusual, but not unheard of," Priya said. "If it's genuine, and if it was never formally dissolved, it could complicate any inheritance claims tied to Hale Industries considerably. It wouldn't force you into anything directly — courts don't typically enforce marriage clauses that bluntly anymore — but it could absolutely be used to contest control of company shares, especially combined with everything else currently threatening to come to light."Damian rubbed a hand over his

"Discuss what?" Damian demanded, positioning himself instinctively between the broker and Nadia. "You've already lost every advantage you had. The confession exists. The eyewitness account exists. Whatever you think you're accomplishing tonight, it changes nothing.""On the contrary," the broker said, unbothered by the hostility in Damian's voice. "It changes quite a lot. You see, I've had a very productive evening reconsidering my options. Colleen's confession is a liability, yes, but only if it reaches the right hands. Tonight, I intend to make sure it never does.""You can't just eliminate all of us," Nadia said, forcing steadiness into her voice despite the fear clawing at her chest. "Damian already told you. There are copies. Journalists. Lawyers outside your reach.""I'm aware," the broker said. "Which is precisely why elimination was never my first preference. I much prefer negotiation, when it's available. But negotiation requires leverage, and I find myself, for the first tim

Nadia's knees nearly buckled at the news. "Empty," she repeated numbly. "He's not there. He's just gone.""Not gone," the security lead said, emerging from the building with a grim expression. "Moved, and recently. There's still warmth in the building's heating system, food half-eaten on a table inside. Whoever was here left within the last twenty minutes, probably the moment they realized we were closing in."Nadia turned sharply toward Colleen, who had followed at a careful distance behind the security team, her expression carefully composed despite the accusation Nadia had leveled at her in the car. "You warned them," Nadia said, fury cutting through her exhaustion. "Didn't you? That's the only explanation for how they knew we were coming.""I didn't," Colleen said, though something in her voice lacked its usual conviction. "I swear to you, Nadia, I want Damian found just as much as you do.""Then explain how they knew," Nadia demanded. "Explain how a building we only identified an

"What do you want?" Nadia asked, eyeing the torn page still held just out of reach."Simple," the broker said. "Your silence, permanently. Not Colleen's confession — that's already secured elsewhere, out of my control, and I've accepted that loss. But the two of you, specifically, need to understand that whatever you learn today doesn't leave this shipping yard. No authorities. No journalists. No further digging into who else might have been involved. In exchange, I release Damian, unharmed, and you walk away knowing the whole truth about your father.""And if we refuse?" Damian asked, straining against his restraints."Then I suppose we'll discover exactly how much you're both willing to sacrifice for a version of the truth you'll never actually possess," the broker said. "Your choice."Nadia looked at Damian, searching his battered but determined expression for guidance, though she already knew what her own instincts were telling her. "We can't agree to silence," she said slowly. "N

Nadia stared at the message, dread pooling cold in her stomach. "She's watching us right now," she said, glancing around the café with sudden, sharp awareness. "She knew exactly where to find you."Vivienne paled. "She must have tracked my phone. She's done it before, whenever she suspected I was seeing someone she didn't approve of.""We need to move," Nadia said, already signaling to the security team stationed discreetly near the entrance. "Now."They hurried out of the café, security closing protectively around them as they made their way to the waiting vehicle, Nadia scanning every passing car and pedestrian with mounting paranoia. It wasn't until they were several blocks away, the estate finally coming into view, that she allowed herself to breathe fully again."You did the right thing," Nadia said quietly, glancing at Vivienne, who sat pale and shaken beside her. "Coming to me instead of doing what she asked.""I don't feel like I did the right thing," Vivienne said. "I feel li