SILAS
I checked my watch. Ten minutes and twelve seconds.
The room was too quiet. I didn’t need to be a genius to know she was gone. Maya Sullivan was a lot of things: a brat, a chatterbox, a sharp-tongued fighter, but she was also predictable.
A girl with a mouth like hers doesn't wait to be told when to say her vows. She’s already looking for a way to scream no before the ceremony even starts.
I didn't bother with the handle. I put my boot to the lock, and the door gave way with a single, heavy thud. The window was up, and the curtains snapped in the wind like white flags. But Maya Sullivan wasn't surrendering. She was declaring war.
I walked to the open window, the cold air rushing in to meet me. The fire escape was empty. Four stories of rusted iron and a drop that could break a person. She’d rather gamble on that than a life with me. Most women would have stayed.
I found myself almost impressed.
"Sir?" my guard, Elias, asked from the doorway. "She’s gone. Should we—"
"Is the tail on the boyfriend in place?"
"Yes, sir. They’re heading toward the city center.”
My phone vibrated. It was my father. "I have it under control, Viktor," I said before he could speak.
"Under control?" My father scoffed. "I just heard she’s in a taxi, racing toward a Marriage Bureau with her pathetic boyfriend. She’s making a mockery of this deal, Silas. You look like an amateur.”
“I said, I have it under control,” I repeated, my eyes tracking the movement of the curtains.
“You let a twenty-three-year-old girl make a fool of the Blackwood name before the ink on the contract is even dry," Viktor snapped. “I hope for your sake you’re already behind her, Silas. I didn't pay her father’s debts so you could play hide and seek.”
I gripped the edge of the window frame until my knuckles turned white.
"I knew she’d run," I said calmly. "I’m letting her think she has a choice, letting her lead me to her leverage. I want to see what she thinks will save her.”
"Leverage? She is the leverage, Silas.” Viktor laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Have you forgotten why we’re doing this?"
"I haven't forgotten," I said. I looked out at the empty fire escape. "I’m the one dealing with her. Not you.”
"Start thinking like a Blackwood,” Viktor warned. "The press is digging into the docks and the authorities are looking at our shipping manifests. They want any excuse to freeze our accounts. We don't need more bad press."
"I’m aware of the strategy."
"Then act like it. We need a shield, Silas, and Maya is it. She’s the perfect face for this family. We need a wedding to make the world forget where our money actually comes from.”
"And if she doesn't play along?" I asked. I watched a piece of trash blow across the alley below.
"You don't give her a choice," Viktor corrected. “You make it her only option. The authorities are watching us. One wrong move and we're finished. We need a love story to sell to the press, to stop them from asking questions about our investments.”
“Viktor,” I tried to cut him off. I’d had enough.
He didn't even pause. "Maya Sullivan is a clean asset," he said. "She has no one. Her father is a coward and her boyfriend is a rat. Once she’s a Blackwood, she belongs to us. But if she marries that boy today, she becomes useless and I'll have to get rid of her. Is that what you want?”
Her boyfriend is a rat?
“Dad.” I gripped the phone tighter. "She won't marry him.”
"Of course she won't," Viktor said. He sounded pleased. "I’ve been paying that rat for months now. Liam is exactly where he needs to be. He’s been my eyes and ears since the day her father stopped paying.”
Maya was an infuriating brat, but Liam was worse. He was a parasite, taking a paycheck to lead her into a trap while she looked at him like a savior. It made me sick and left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I’d make him pay for every time he’d touched her hand, every lie he’d told her while my father’s money sat in his pocket. I’d make sure he suffered for betraying her.
"I'll handle it," I said, a final warning in my voice. "And Viktor? Stay out of my business. She’s mine now."
I hung up before he could answer.
"Elias," I called, turning away from the window. "Get the car. It's time.”
The drive took less than twenty minutes. By the time we arrived, my security team had already cleared the hall. The double doors were flung open, and I stepped inside.
It was pathetic. Maya was clinging to a man who was selling her out for a paycheck, holding him like a lifeline while he held the knife to her back.
I walked toward them, the sound of my boots heavy against the floor.
"Maya," I called out, my voice echoing in the quiet hall.
Maya flinched, her grip tightening on Liam's sleeve. She thought she was being brave. She thought she was escaping.
I stopped a few feet away and finally looked at the man she was so desperate to marry. He wouldn't meet my eyes. He knew exactly who was signing his checks.
"Liam, we have to go!" she gasped. Her voice was full of a panic that made my jaw tighten. She was looking for an exit that didn't exist. She didn't realize my men had sealed the building before she even stepped out of the taxi.
But the rat didn't move.
Liam stood there, sweat beading on his forehead. He just slowly, deliberately, let go of her hand.
I watched the confusion flicker across Maya’s face. She looked down at her empty hand, then up at him. She didn't know yet. She didn't realize Liam had a price tag on his loyalty and that my father had already paid it in full.
I stopped three feet away. Even with her world collapsing, she looked ready to bite.
"The five minutes are up, Maya,” I announced.
“Liam…” Maya’s lip trembled as she begged for a man who wouldn't even look at her. He stared at his shoes, just like her father was glued to the floor.
I stepped closer until the scent of jasmine filled my lungs. I reached out, my thumb catching her chin. I forced her focus back to me, away from the rat.
"He's not going to help you, sweetheart," I murmured, my thumb brushing her lip.
I let my eyes burn into hers, stripping away her last illusion of safety. "Are we going to do this the easy way? Or do I need to show you what happens to girls who run from a Blackwood? Because nobody runs from a Blackwood twice.”
I didn't wait for her to answer. I reached out, my fingers curling firmly around her waist. I was claiming what was mine.
“Now, get in the car," I commanded. "We have a wedding to plan.”