Chapter 6 — The Signature

• Caroline’s POV
• “I want to discuss the contract.”
• The words left my mouth before I could take them back.
• There was silence on the other end of the phone.
• Then Lucian said, “I was waiting for you.”
• Of course he was.
• I closed my eyes and looked toward the living room.
• My mother was sitting on the sofa with a bandage above her eyebrow. The bruising around her wrist had already begun to darken.
• She looked tired.
• But she was alive.
• That was all that mattered.
• “I’ll sign it,” I said.
• My mother looked at me.
• Lucian was silent for a moment.
• “Are you sure?”
• The question surprised me.
• “You’re asking me that now?”
• “Yes.”
• “You’ve spent the last two days telling me what will happen if I don’t.”
• “I told you the truth.”
• “You threatened me.”
• “No.”
• “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
• “I don’t sleep much.”
• I ignored that.
• “I’ll sign the contract.”
• “Good.”
• The simple word made my stomach turn.
• “Where?”
• “My office.”
• “I’ll come there.”
• “I’ll send a car.”
• “No.”
• “Caroline—”
• “I can drive myself.”
• “You shouldn’t be driving.”
• “I’ve been driving for years.”
• “This isn’t an argument.”
• “I don’t care.”
• There was a pause.
• Then Lucian sighed.
• It was the first time I had heard him sound even slightly irritated.
• “Come when you’re ready.”
• “I will.”
• The call ended.
• I stared at my phone.
• I hated the way Lucian always spoke as though he already knew what I would do.
• I hated the fact that, this time, he had been right.
• My mother watched me carefully.
• “You’re going to sign it.”
• “Yes.”
• “Because of me.”
• I sat beside her.
• “Because someone attacked you last night.”
• “Caroline, I’m fine.”
• “You were attacked in our home.”
• “I’m still here.”
• “That doesn’t mean it won’t happen again.”
• She looked away.
• I knew she was afraid.
• So was I.
• I had spent my entire life believing I could protect my family. I was a detective. I knew how to investigate danger. I knew how to recognize threats.
• But I had never faced a threat like this.
• The intruder had come into our home without warning.
• He had reached my mother.
• And if I had been a second slower, I didn’t know what would have happened.
• Lucian had warned me.
• I had refused to listen.
• “I’ll sign the contract,” I said again.
• My mother looked at me.
• “You don’t have to destroy your life to save mine.”
• “I’m not destroying my life.”
• She gave me a sad smile.
• “You don’t know that.”
• I had no answer.
• Because she was right.
• ⸻
• Lucian’s office was located at the top of a skyscraper that seemed to disappear into the clouds.
• I had seen the building before.
• Everyone in the city had.
• The Varr Group tower dominated the financial district, its name displayed in silver letters across the entrance.
• I had never imagined I would walk inside as a woman about to sign a marriage contract with the man who owned it.
• A receptionist directed me upstairs.
• The elevator opened directly into Lucian’s private office.
• He stood beside the windows with his back to me.
• The city stretched behind him.
• “You came.”
• “You sound surprised.”
• “I’m not.”
• “Then don’t say it like you are.”
• He turned.
• His eyes moved over me.
• I had dressed simply. Black trousers, a white blouse, and a dark jacket.
• Lucian looked as though he had stepped out of a magazine.
• Perfect suit.
• Perfect hair.
• Perfect expression.
• I immediately disliked him more.
• “Where is the contract?”
• “Here.”
• A folder rested on the desk.
• I walked toward it.
• Then stopped.
• “Before I sign, I want something.”
• Lucian said nothing.
• “I want my mother’s protection in writing.”
• “It is.”
• “I want the debt completely erased.”
• “It will be.”
• “Not transferred. Not postponed. Not reduced.”
• “Erased.”
• “And I want access to Daniel’s records.”
• His expression changed slightly.
• “Why?”
• “Because I want to know what happened.”
• “That isn’t part of our agreement.”
• “Then add it.”
• “No.”
• I stared at him.
• “Then I don’t sign.”
• Lucian studied me.
• For several seconds, neither of us moved.
• Then he walked to the desk.
• “You are negotiating from a weak position.”
• “I am still negotiating.”
• Something almost resembling amusement crossed his face.
• “Very well.”
• He picked up the contract.
• “I will give you access to certain records.”
• “Certain?”
• “Records relevant to your brother’s debt.”
• “That isn’t enough.”
• “It is what I am offering.”
• I hated the fact that I had to accept.
• “Fine.”
• Lucian placed the contract in front of me.
• I read every page again.
• This time, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before.
• An additional document was attached to the back.
• “What is this?”
• “An agreement.”
• “You said this was the marriage contract.”
• “It is.”
• “Then why is there another document?”
• Lucian didn’t answer.
• I turned toward him.
• “Lucian.”
• “Read it.”
• I picked up the second document.
• My eyes moved across the page.
• The words blurred.
• I read it again.
• Then I looked up.
• “What is this?”
• “An agreement connected to Daniel’s debt.”
• “You said the marriage would erase the debt.”
• “It will.”
• “Then why am I signing this?”
• “Because the debt had conditions.”
• My grip tightened around the paper.
• “What conditions?”
• Lucian’s expression remained calm.
• “Daniel made a separate agreement.”
• “With you?”
• “Yes.”
• “And this is connected to it?”
• “Yes.”
• I looked down again.
• The language was complicated.
• Legal terms.
• Obligations.
• Conditions.
• I understood enough to know I didn’t understand everything.
• “You said I was signing a marriage contract.”
• “You are.”
• “You didn’t tell me about this.”
• “You didn’t ask.”
• I looked at him in disbelief.
• “That is your defense?”
• “It is the truth.”
• I pushed the papers away.
• “You expect me to sign something I don’t understand?”
• “No.”
• “Then explain it.”
• Lucian walked around the desk.
• “The marriage removes the financial debt.”
• “And this?”
• “Ensures the terms of the original agreement are fulfilled.”
• My heart began to pound.
• “What terms?”
• His eyes held mine.
• “You agreed to become my wife.”
• I stared at him.
• The room suddenly felt too quiet.
• Lucian looked down at the contract.
• “You never agreed to become free.”
• I felt the blood drain from my face.
• “What have I done?”
• Lucian did not answer immediately.
• He simply watched me.
• Then he pushed the pen toward me.
• “You made a choice.”
• I looked at the signature line.
• My name waited beneath it.
• Caroline Fisher.
• One signature.
• One decision.
• One year of my life.
• I thought of my mother sitting alone in our house, trying to pretend she wasn’t afraid.
• I thought of Daniel.
• I thought of the man who had attacked our home.
• Then I picked up the pen.
• My hand trembled.
• Lucian watched silently.
• I signed.
• The moment the ink touched the paper, something inside me changed.
• I had just agreed to become Lucian Varr’s wife.
• I looked at the contract.
• Then at him.
• “Now what?”
• Lucian took the signed document.
• “Now?”
• His eyes met mine.
• “You agreed to become my wife.”
• I frowned.
• “Obviously.”
• He glanced down at the contract.
• “But you never agreed to become free.”
• My blood ran cold.
• And suddenly, I understood that signing the contract had not ended my brother’s debt.
• It had only changed the person who owned it.