Chapter 5 — The Threat

• Caroline’s POV
• I did not sleep that night.
• The marriage contract remained on my desk, its pages spread beneath the light of my lamp. I had read it so many times that I no longer needed to look at the words.
• One year.
• Live with Lucian Varr.
• Attend events with him.
• Pretend to love him.
• Allow the world to believe our marriage was real.
• In exchange, my mother's debt would disappear.
• It should have been an easy decision.
• It wasn't.
• I kept thinking about Lucian's final words.
• Do not mistake my patience for kindness.
• I had spent my entire life refusing to be controlled by anyone. I had become a detective because I believed in finding the truth, even when the truth was ugly.
• Marrying Lucian would mean walking into a world I didn't understand.
• A world filled with powerful men, dangerous enemies, secrets, and threats.
• And I would be entering it voluntarily.
• I picked up the contract and stared at Lucian's signature.
• Then I tore it in half.
• The sound was strangely satisfying.
• I tore the pages again.
• And again.
• By the time I finished, the contract was scattered across my desk in pieces.
• “No,” I whispered.
• I would not marry Lucian Varr.
• I would find another way.
• There was always another way.
• I gathered the pieces into a pile and left my room.
• My mother was sitting in the living room, staring at the television without watching it. She looked exhausted, her face pale beneath the soft light from the screen.
• She turned toward me.
• “You tore it up.”
• I stopped.
• There was no point pretending she didn't know what she was talking about.
• “Yes.”
• “The contract.”
• “Yes.”
• My mother looked at the pieces in my hand.
• “Caroline, that man said he could erase the debt.”
• “I know.”
• “He said he would protect us.”
• “I know.”
• “Then why did you refuse?”
• I sat beside her.
• “Because I don't know him.”
• “You know enough to know he is powerful.”
• “That is exactly the problem.”
• My mother looked down at her hands.
• “He said Daniel owed him money.”
• “I know.”
• “And he wants you to marry him for one year.”
• “I know, Mom.”
• “Then what are we going to do?”
• I looked at her.
• That was the question I had been avoiding.
• “I'll handle it.”
• My mother gave me a tired smile.
• “You always say that.”
• “Because I always do.”
• But this time, the words sounded less convincing.
• A sudden sound came from outside.
• I turned toward the window.
• My mother frowned.
• “What was that?”
• “I don't know.”
• I stood.
• “Stay here.”
• “Caroline?”
• Another sound came from the back of the house.
• A crash.
• My hand immediately went beneath my jacket.
• I pulled out my weapon.
• My mother stood behind me.
• “What is happening?”
• “Stay behind me.”
• I moved carefully through the house.
• The back door was open.
• Cold air entered through the broken glass.
• My heart began to pound.
• “Caroline?”
• I heard my mother's voice behind me.
• Then she screamed.
• I turned.
• A dark figure stood at the end of the hallway.
• My mother was on the floor.
• I raised my weapon.
• “Don't move!”
• The figure grabbed my mother and pulled her backward.
• I fired.
• The bullet struck the wall.
• The figure released her and ran through the broken back door.
• I rushed toward my mother.
• “Mom!”
• She was conscious.
• Blood ran down the side of her face.
• I dropped to my knees beside her.
• “Are you hurt?”
• She touched her head.
• “I—I don't know.”
• I quickly examined her.
• A cut above her eyebrow.
• Bruising around her wrist.
• No obvious signs of serious injury.
• But she was shaking.
• I pulled her against me.
• “It's okay.”
• She clung to me.
• “No, it isn't.”
• I looked toward the open door.
• The intruder was gone.
• I immediately called the police.
• Within minutes, the house was filled with officers.
• I answered every question.
• The back door had been forced open.
• The intruder had entered through the kitchen.
• He had attacked my mother.
• He had fled after I fired.
• There were no cameras.
• No witnesses.
• No clear identification.
• The same story as Daniel's death.
• No answers.
• Just another attack.
• When the officers finally left, dawn was beginning to break.
• My mother had been taken to the hospital for treatment.
• I sat alone in the living room, staring at the broken glass scattered across the floor.
• Lucian's voice returned to me.
• My enemies.
• I had thought he was exaggerating.
• I had thought he was using fear to force me into the marriage.
• I had been wrong.
• Someone had attacked my mother less than twelve hours after I refused his contract.
• My fingers tightened around my phone.
• I found Lucian's number.
• I had not saved it.
• I didn't need to.
• I dialed the number printed on the contract.
• He answered before the second ring.
• “Caroline.”
• My blood ran cold.
• “How did you know it was me?”
• “I have your number.”
• “Did you do this?”
• There was silence.
• Then Lucian asked, “Is your mother alive?”
• My heart stopped.
• “How did you know she was attacked?”
• “I asked if she was alive.”
• “Answer me!”
• “Did you call me to ask questions, or do you want help?”
• I stood.
• “I don't need your help.”
• “You called me.”
• “Someone attacked my mother.”
• “I know.”
• The words made my stomach turn.
• “You know?”
• “Yes.”
• “Who was it?”
• “I don't know yet.”
• I laughed bitterly.
• “You don't know?”
• “Not yet.”
• “Was it one of your enemies?”
• “Most likely.”
• I closed my eyes.
• The room suddenly felt colder.
• Lucian continued.
• “This is what I was warning you about.”
• I looked at the torn contract on my desk.
• “You said your enemies wouldn't be able to touch me.”
• “They won't.”
• “My mother was attacked!”
• “Your mother is not my wife.”
• The words silenced me.
• I hated him for saying it.
• I hated him even more because I understood what he meant.
• Lucian's protection had limits.
• And I had refused his offer.
• “Marry me,” he said.
• I gripped the phone.
• “No.”
• “Then this will continue.”
• My chest tightened.
• “You're threatening me.”
• “No.”
• “Then what are you doing?”
• “Giving you the truth.”
• I looked at the broken door.
• At the blood on the floor.
• At the life I had believed I could protect.
• Lucian's voice lowered.
• “You wanted another way.”
• I said nothing.
• “There isn't one.”
• The call ended.
• I remained standing in the middle of the room.
• For the first time, I understood the real danger.
• Lucian Varr had not been exaggerating.
• He had not been trying to frighten me.
• He had been warning me.
• And I had refused to listen.
• Now my mother was in a hospital bed.
• Daniel was dead.
• Someone was hunting my family.
• I looked at the pieces of the marriage contract scattered across my desk.
• Then I picked up the phone again.
• This time, I did not call the police.
• I called Lucian Varr.
• When he answered, I swallowed my pride.
• “I want to discuss the contract.”
• There was a pause.
• Then his voice came through the phone.
• “I was waiting for you.”