price of Desperation
CHAPTER 1
The Price of Desperation
The first time Scarlett Jones begged a man for mercy, he hung up on her. The second time, he told her there was nothing he could do. By the third time, she had stopped counting.
Now standing outside, facing the dreadful doors of the police station, Scarlett stared at her phone with trembling fingers, wondering how many more people she would have to beg before someone came to her rescue.
"Please, Mr. Peters, I'm not asking you to entirely let go of the money. Just give us a little more time."
Her voice sounded strange to her own ears. Too shallow. Too desperate.
At the other end of the call, Mr Peters, the lawyer sighed.
"Scarlett, I understand what you and the family are going through, but your brother's case is becoming too complicated. The evidence against him is grievous, and we need additional funds if we're going to challenge the prosecution's position adequately."
"My brother didn't do it."
"That is what you believe."
"No." Her fingers and jaws tightened. "That is what I know."
Silence followed.
Then came the words she feared.
"If you cannot make the payment by Thursday, I cannot guarantee that I will continue representing him."
The call ended.
Scarlett lowered her gaze to her lowered phone. For several seconds, she just stood there, watching people move in and out of the station.
Some came in angry. Others leaving looking relieved. And a few sat on the benches with the expressions of people whose lives must have changed in a single afternoon.
She wondered which category she and her family would belong to.
Collins had been arrested six weeks ago in connection with a financial fraud case involving a company he worked in. Someone had used his name, forged documents bearing his signature, and transferred money through an account linked to him. At least, that was what he had told her. And she believed him.
Collins could be reckless, stubborn and infuriatingly careless with money. But he was neither a thief let alone a criminal.
Unfortunately, believing in her brother would not pay his legal fees. Neither would it pay the debts piling up at home.
Her mother's medication had run out five days ago. The homeowner had threatened to throw their belongings on the street. Different creditors had called before noon asking for payment.
She wiped the sweats running down her temple with the back of her hands, slipped her phone into her handbag and walked towards the road, blinking rapidly against the tears threatening to fall.
She couldn't afford to cry. Not today. Not when everyone was depending on her to be the strong one.
By the time Scarlett returned home, it was evening.
Their once comfortable and full house looked more empty than she remembered. The paint on the walls was peeling, and a leaking pipe had left a dark stain on the kitchen wall and ceiling. Her mother's favorite curtains and kitchen utensils were gone, sold weeks earlier to cover an outstanding bill.
Her mother sat on the torn sofa, wrapped in a faded shawl.
"How did it go?" she asked.
Scarlett forced a smile.
"We're making progress."
It was a lie.
Her mother studied her face. "Scarlett."
The smile disappeared.
"They need more money, Mama."
Her mother closed her eyes.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then her mother reached for Scarlett's hand. "Perhaps we should sell the house."
"And where would you go?"
"Somewhere smaller."
"You need your medication. You need somewhere comfortable to rest. I'm not selling the house."
"Then what do we do?"
Scarlett had no answer.
She looked toward the framed photograph on the wall. It showed her father standing between her and Collins, his arms wrapped around their shoulders. They had all been smiling then, before his death, before the debts, before their family became a collection of problems no one knew a way around it.
"I'll find a way," Scarlett whispered. ''I definitely will ''
She had no idea how. But she would.
For Collins, for her Mama, she would.
The following morning, an unfamiliar black car pulled up outside the old house.
Scarlett noticed it through the window while washing the breakfast plates. The vehicle looked expensive, enough to cost more than everything they owned combined.
A man stepped out.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Impeccably dressed in a grey suit. Then checked his watch before approaching the gate.
Scarlett dried her hands and went outside.
"Can I help you?"
The stranger looked at her.
"Scarlett Jones?"
"Yes."
"I'm Gary. My employer would like to speak with you."
"Who is your employer?"
"Mr. Sebastian William."
The name meant nothing to her because she knew no one with that name, until the man added, "He is expecting you at his office this afternoon."
Scarlett frowned. "Why?"
"I was instructed to deliver an invitation, not an explanation."
He handed her a white-colored envelope.
Her name was printed across the front in elegant black lettering.
"Tell Mr. William I don't accept mysterious invitations from strangers."
The man did not look offended.
"I'll convey your response."
He turned toward the car about to leave, when a realization struck her.
"Wait," she said, sounding desperate.
Scarlett hated herself for asking before she even opened the envelope.
"Does this have anything to do with my brother?"
For the first time, the man hesitated.
"I believe Mr. William may be able to help with your family's situation."
Then he entered the car and drove away.
Scarlett stood at the gate, staring after him.
HELP AND HOPE.
Two dangerous words when you are desperate enough to believe in it.
She opened the envelope. Inside was a single card.
'MR. SEBASTIAN WILLIAM REQUEST FOR YOUR PRESENCE AT HIS OFFICE BY 3PM'
Beneath the message was an address and date.
On the back, someone had written a final sentence by hand.
'Come alone if you want your brother to have a future'.
Scarlett read it thrice.
Her stomach tightened as shivers ran down her spine.
She should have thrown the card away. She should have called the police or contacted her lawyer.
Instead, she went inside and began searching for her least worn black dress. Desperation had a way of making terrible decisions look like the only decisions left.
At exactly three o'clock the next day, Scarlett stood inside the tallest building she had ever entered.
The receptionist led her through a private corridor and opened the door to an expansive office overlooking the city. A man stood beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, one hand in his pocket.
"Mr. William," the receptionist announced.
He turned.
Scarlett's first thought was that the photographs she had seen of him online had failed to capture how intimidating he was in person.
Sebastian William possessed the kind of face and style that belonged on magazine covers and the kind of expression that warned people against approaching him without a good reason.
His dark eyes moved over her briefly.
"Leave us."
The receptionist disappeared, closing the door behind her.
Scarlett remained standing.
"You said you could help my brother."
Sebastian walked toward his desk and sat on the gigantic chair beside the desk.
"I can."
"How much?" she said.
One of his eyebrows lifted.
"Straight to business. I appreciate that."
"I didn't come here to exchange pleasantries."
"No. You came because your family is drowning in debt, your brother is facing criminal prosecution, and nobody else is willing to save you."
The accuracy of his words felt like a dagger to her heart.
"How do you know all that?"
"I make it my business to know things that concern me."
"And why should my family concern you?"
Sebastian opened a drawer and removed a document.
He placed it on the desk between them.
"Because I have a proposition for you, Miss Jones."
Scarlett looked down.
The first words on the page made her heart jump.
MARITAL AGREEMENT.
She looked up sharply.
"What is this?"
"An offer."
"An offer to do what?"
"Marry me."
For several seconds, Scarlett wondered whether she had misunderstood him.
Then she laughed once, without humor.
"You're joking."
"I rarely joke."
"You don't know me."
"I'm aware."
"Then why would you want to marry me?"
Sebastian leaned back in his chair, studying her with an expression she couldn't decipher.
"Two years," he said. "You will be my wife for two years. In exchange, I will cover your brother's legal expenses and settle your family's outstanding debts." Scarlett stared at him.
Two years of her life. A marriage to a man she had never met before that afternoon.
It was absurd.
It was impossible.
It was also the first offer anyone had made that might actually save her family.
"What are the conditions?" she asked quietly and ashamed.
Sebastian slid the document closer.
"You will play the devoted wife in public. You will respect the boundaries established in this agreement. And you will never mistake this arrangement for a real marriage."
His voice hardened on the final sentence.
"Whatever happens, Miss Jones, do not expect anything else from me."
Scarlett looked at the contract.
Then at the man offering it. Is he crazy?
She didn't know why he had chosen her. She didn't know what he wanted beyond the marriage. And she certainly didn't know what it would cost her to accept.
But she knew one thing.
Her brother needed help, her mother needed help. And time was running out.
"May I take this home and read it?"
"No."
Her head snapped up.
Sebastian checked his watch.
"You have until six o'clock to decide. After that, the offer disappears."
"You expect me to agree to marry you in less than three hours?"
"I expect you to decide how much your family means to you in less than three hours."
The cruelty of the remark stole her breath.
Scarlett gathered the document, her fingers trembling with anger.
As she reached the door, his voice stopped her.
"One more thing, Miss Jones."
She turned.
For the first time, Sebastian's expression changed. Something dark and bitter moved behind his eyes fast.
"When you become my wife, understand this: I did not choose you because I want you."
He paused.
"I chose you because your family took something from me, and I intend to get it back."
Scarlett felt chill travel down her spine.
"What did my family take from you?"
Sebastian's jaw tightened.
"That..." he said, "is a question you should have asked five years ago."
She left the office with the contract pressed against her chest.
And for the first time since their father's death, Scarlett understood that saving her family might cost her far more than money.
It might cost her the rest of her life.
