BOUND TO THE RUTHLESS CEO

The rain came down like the sky had finally decided to punish the city. Emily Vance stood beneath the flickering sign of an abandoned café, clutching a thin brown envelope against her chest. She had been standing there for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of wondering if she was making the biggest mistake of her life. Then her phone vibrated. UNKNOWN NUMBER Emily stared at the screen before answering. “Hello?” A man's voice came through, low and emotionless. “Are you Emily Vance?” Her fingers tightened around the envelope. “Yes.” “Good. Then listen carefully. You have exactly one chance to save your family.” Her breath caught. “What are you talking about?” “You know what your father did.” Emily's stomach dropped. “My father didn't—” “Don't lie to me.” The call ended. Emily stared at the phone. For the past three weeks, her family's life had collapsed piece by piece. Her father's company had lost its biggest contract. Their bank accounts had been frozen. Their house was hours away from being seized. And yesterday, she'd discovered something even worse. Her father's business partner had disappeared. Along with millions of dollars. Money her father was now being blamed for stealing. But her father wasn't a criminal. Emily knew that. She also knew they had no way of proving it. Her phone vibrated again. This time, a message appeared. Sterling Enterprises. 11:00 p.m. Come alone. Underneath it was an address. Emily's heart hammered. Everyone in the city knew the name Sterling. Damian Sterling. Billionaire. CEO. Business shark. And, according to every rumor she'd ever heard, a man who could destroy a company with one phone call and ruin a person without ever raising his voice. Emily looked toward the dark street. She should leave. She should go home. She should forget she'd ever received the message. Instead, she slipped the envelope into her bag. And walked into the rain. --- Sterling Enterprises rose above the city like a black blade. The building was almost completely empty when Emily stepped through the revolving doors. A security guard looked up. “Miss Vance?” She nodded. “Mr. Sterling is expecting you.” Expecting her. The words made her uneasy. She followed him into a private elevator. The doors closed. As the elevator climbed, Emily caught her reflection in the mirrored wall. Her dark hair was damp from the rain. Her fingers trembled slightly. She curled them into fists. She couldn't be afraid. Not tonight. Her family needed her. The elevator doors opened on the top floor. The security guard stepped aside. “His office is at the end of the hall.” Then he disappeared. Emily swallowed. The hallway was silent. Too silent. She walked toward the enormous black doors at the end. Before she could knock, a voice came from inside. “Come in.” Emily froze. She hadn't heard anyone approach. Slowly, she opened the door. The first thing she noticed was the windows. Floor-to-ceiling glass overlooked the entire city. Thousands of lights glittered below, making everything look beautiful from so high above. The second thing she noticed was the man standing with his back to her. Tall. Broad shoulders. Black suit. One hand resting casually in his pocket. He didn't turn around. “Emily Vance.” Her heartbeat stumbled. “Yes.” “You're late.” She glanced at the clock. “It's eleven exactly.” “Exactly is late.” She frowned. “Then why ask me to come at eleven?” He turned. And Emily immediately understood why people were afraid of him. Damian Sterling's face was devastatingly handsome, but there was nothing warm about it. His eyes were cold. Sharp. Calculating. The kind of eyes that made a person feel as though every secret they'd ever kept had already been uncovered. He studied her for several seconds. Then his gaze dropped to the bag hanging from her shoulder. “You brought it.” Emily stiffened. “Brought what?” A faint smile touched his lips. It wasn't a kind smile. It was the smile of a man who had just confirmed something. “The files.” Her blood ran cold. “What files?” Damian walked toward her. One step. Then another. Emily refused to move backward. He stopped a few feet away. “You're a terrible liar.” “I don't know what you're talking about.” “You're lying again.” His voice remained calm. That somehow made him more frightening. Emily lifted her chin. “Why am I here?” Damian studied her. “Because your family is drowning.” Her expression changed. “You know about my family?” “I know everything about your family.” He walked past her and returned to his desk. Emily turned to face him. “Then you know my father is innocent.” Damian said nothing. “You know he didn't steal that money.” “I know.” Relief flashed through her. Then disappeared when he added: “But I also know who did.” Emily stared at him. “Who?” Damian leaned against his desk. “You're asking the wrong question.” “What question should I ask?” “Why did they choose your father?” Silence. Emily's mind raced. “What does that mean?” “It means your father's company was never the target.” Damian's eyes locked onto hers. “You were.” A chill crawled down her spine. “Me?” “Yes.” He opened a drawer and removed a photograph. Then he slid it across the desk. Emily walked closer. Her heart stopped. It was a photograph of her. Taken three days earlier. Outside her house. She looked up sharply. “Where did you get this?” Damian's expression didn't change. “I have people everywhere.” Fear settled heavily in her chest. “You've been watching me.” “Yes.” “Why?” “Because you were watching me first.” Emily went still. Damian's eyes darkened. “You thought you were infiltrating my company.” Her mouth went dry. He knew. The files in her bag suddenly felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. She had been sent there by someone who promised to clear her father's name if she stole information from Sterling Enterprises. She had believed she was helping her family. She had believed she was invisible. She had been wrong. Damian stepped closer. “You walked into my company pretending to be harmless.” Emily's pulse raced. “I don't know what you're talking about.” He gave a quiet laugh. “You really should stop lying.” He reached into another drawer and pulled out a folder. He opened it. Inside were photographs. Her entering Sterling Enterprises. Her talking to employees. Her leaving the building. Her sitting at a café. Every move she'd made over the past two weeks. Emily's face went pale. “You've been following me.” “No.” He closed the folder. “I've been studying you.” “What do you want?” Damian's expression hardened. “The truth.” “I don't have anything to tell you.” “You will.” He walked around the desk. Emily's back straightened. “And if I don't?” Damian stopped directly in front of her. For the first time, something dangerous flickered in his eyes. “Then your father's company disappears.” Emily's heart cracked. “You wouldn't.” “I would.” “You can't destroy innocent people just because—” “Your father isn't innocent.” “He is!” Damian stared at her. Then quietly said, “Ask him about the night your mother died.” Emily stopped breathing. Her mother's death. That was a subject nobody ever talked about. Her mother had died when Emily was twelve. A car accident. At least, that was what she'd always been told. “What does my mother have to do with this?” Damian said nothing. “Tell me!” His jaw tightened. “Not here.” “Then where?” He looked at her for a long moment. Then he picked up another document. “Here's your choice.” He placed it on the desk. Emily approached cautiously. It was a contract. She scanned the first page. Her eyes widened. MARRIAGE AGREEMENT. She looked up. “What is this?” “A solution.” “To what?” “To your problem.” Emily let out a disbelieving laugh. “You're insane.” “Possibly.” “You expect me to marry you?” “For one year.” She stared at him. “No.” “You haven't heard the terms.” “I don't care about the terms.” Damian leaned closer. “You should.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Because if you walk out of this room tonight, your father's company is finished by morning.” Emily's eyes burned. “You're blackmailing me.” “Yes.” He said it so calmly that she almost wished he'd denied it. She looked back at the contract. “One year?” “One year.” “And then?” “You walk away.” She laughed bitterly. “And what do you get?” Damian's gaze held hers. “You.” Emily's heart pounded. He continued. “You live in my house. You follow my rules. You play the role of my wife in public.” “And in private?” His expression became unreadable. “In private, you learn exactly what it means to belong to me.” Emily stared at him. Every instinct told her to run. But then she remembered her father. Her family's home. Everything they were about to lose. She looked down at the contract. A single tear slipped down her cheek. Damian noticed. But he didn't comment. Instead, he pushed a pen toward her. “You have until midnight.” Emily stared at the clock. 11:47 p.m. Thirteen minutes. Thirteen minutes to decide whether to destroy her own freedom to save the people she loved. Her fingers slowly closed around the pen. Then she looked into Damian Sterling's cold eyes. “After one year,” she whispered, “you let me go.” Damian's lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile. “If you still want to leave.” Emily frowned. “What does that mean?” He didn't answer. He simply watched as she signed her name. Emily Vance. The moment the ink touched the paper, Damian reached across the desk and took the contract. His eyes lingered on her signature. Then he looked up. “You've just made the biggest mistake of your life, Mrs. Sterling.” Emily's stomach twisted. “Why?” Damian stood. “Because you still don't know what you were sent here to steal.” He stepped closer. “And you have no idea who you're really married to.” Outside, thunder shook the city. And Emily realized that the moment she'd signed that contract... Her old life had ended.