All Chapters of THE CONTRACT OF MARRIAGE: TWO YEARS: Chapter 51 - Chapter 57

## Footprints in the Snow The taxi carrying Aria suddenly slowed amid the increasingly heavy snowfall before its rear wheels became lodged in a thick mound of ice along the side of a deserted road. The driver cursed in the local language, repeatedly pressing the gas pedal, but all it did was make the engine roar uselessly. Through the window, which was beginning to frost over, dazzling beams of headlights cut through the darkness of the storm from behind. It was not Chloe's car. Two black SUVs with powerful engines pulled up and surrounded the taxi. The front door of one SUV opened, and a pair of footsteps Aria knew all too well sank into the thick snow with a steady, deadly rhythm. Lucas. Aria held her breath, her hand instinctively gripping the seat belt as the taxi door was yanked open from outside. The freezing night wind immediately pierced her skin, but the cold was nothing compared to the terrifying aura of tension emanating from the man standing before her. Lucas stood t

## A Stage of Lies and a Threatening Blade "...this child." The words almost slipped freely from Aria's lips. Her breath caught in her throat, and the fingers clutching Lucas's shirt suddenly went limp. Every joint in her body tensed violently as reality slammed back into her consciousness. She had almost done it. She had almost exposed her greatest secret, the pregnancy she had desperately hidden to protect her unborn baby's life from Chloe's grasp and Lucas's suffocating obsession with protecting her. Her emotions and the pain caused by Lucas's disbelief had nearly shattered her defenses in a foolish moment. Lucas furrowed his brows even deeper, his gaze sharpening as he demanded an explanation. "What are you going to lose, Aria? Tell me!" Before Aria could come up with a lie to cover her unfinished sentence, there were two soft knocks from the half-closed door of the master bedroom. The door was gently pushed open, revealing Aunt Maya standing in the doorway with an innocent

# CHAPTER 55 ## The Grip of Intrigue and Promises Amid Sorrow "Make sure you keep your mouth shut if you don't want to spend the rest of your life behind bars, Maya." Chloe's sharp whisper echoed through the silence of the penthouse's back corridor as they made their way toward the service exit. The rhythmic clicks of her high heels matched the rapid pounding of Aunt Maya's heart, which raced with overwhelming fear. The elderly woman half-ran to keep up with Chloe, repeatedly wiping the dried blood from her cheek with a handkerchief dampened by her cold sweat. Chloe abruptly stopped at a dimly lit corner of the hallway. She spun around so suddenly that Aunt Maya nearly collided with her. With an air of absolute dominance, Chloe seized the older woman's shoulders and forced her head down until her lips were right beside the maid's ear. "Inject that bleeding-inducing poison directly into Eleanor's IV fluid at the hospital later," Chloe whispered softly, her voice deceptively sweet

**A Bloody Scheme and the Thorn of Attraction** "It was Mrs. Chloe who did this to me..." Aunt Maya's confession cut through the silence of the penthouse like a sharp dagger, instantly filling the room with a chilling stillness. Aria held her breath, her beautiful eyes narrowing with suspicion. The revelation that Chloe had assaulted the elderly maid did not surprise her in the slightest. Aria knew all too well how cruel and manipulative Chloe could be. However, seeing Aunt Maya invoke Chloe's name in front of Lucas with such theatrical anguish and suffering immediately set off alarm bells in Aria's mind. Her instincts told her that another deception was unfolding. Lucas froze in place. His grip on Aunt Maya's shoulders loosened at once. His expression darkened, tension settling heavily in his eyes as he heard the name of the woman who had repeatedly brought turmoil into his life. "Chloe... did this to you?" Lucas whispered hoarsely, his voice thick with barely restrained anger.