ramped, rundown place she had kept a lease on just in case, which had now become her only refuge. She wore a sim

backdrop of the street, silent as a predator's shadow. An older man in a perfectly tailored bespoke suit, with si

mooth, his eyes sharp and calculating. There

he city completely. Hayes didn't pry or attempt meaningless small talk. He simply offered her a chilled b

vate road, gliding seamlessly through two sets of imposing, heavily guarded security gates. It finally came to a stop be

lenses hadn't captured the sheer, suffocating scale and intimidating grandeu

ing of old paper and expensive polish. He gestured for her to sit in a plush leather ar

She decided directness was her only weapon here. "Why am I here?

"A fair question, Miss Castillo. We have a proposal

We would like you to marry the heir to t

k. She stared at him, waiting for the punchline, for the hidden came

e a dry, incredulous whisper. "I don

Julious's health is... precarious. He was involved in a severe ac

lieves that a marriage-a stable, positive presence in his

ive presence'?" Elliana repeated, her brow furrowing.

y, Hayes slid a thin, black fil

ation, her work history, her family's financial troubles. And on the final page, a handwritten note on heavy parchmen

were found to be extraordinarily compatible. Their destinies, the consultant wrote, were not merely

a hysterical laugh bubbling in her throat

ed the economic lifeblood of New York, a family that could buy and sell h

o stand up. "I am a modern, educated woman, Mr. Hayes

sted all conventional medical and psychological avenues. This was... a final resort. The consultant insisted that the two of y

ridiculousness of the premise. She cut straight to the heart

amily takes care of its own. Upon signing the marriage contract, a trust fund wi

ll have the full, unwavering protection of the Marshall family. Any and all harassment from the Castillo fa

ance

d before her eyes. A woman like you can't survive without a man footing the bills. He thought he

he terrifying empire it represented. The tarot reading was utterly, laugha

would be an insect she could crush under her heel. She could sever her mother's toxic chains forever. To get that kind of leverage, to forge a sword sha

g fingers. She took a slow, deliberate sip, using the elegant motion to hi