BOUND TO THE WRONG HEIR

Chapter 2- the clause

I didn't put the ring on.

I couldn't.

For the first time since I had entered the wedding hall, I was grateful that my hands were shaking. It gave me an excuse not to reach for the velvet cushion.

Everyone was waiting.

The priest.

The Vale family.

My mother.

And Adrian.

Especially Adrian.

He stood a few feet away from me, perfectly composed, as though we weren't discussing the complete destruction of my life in front of fifty people.

I looked down at the document in my hand.

My father's signature stared back at me.

I knew that signature.

I'd seen it on birthday cards, bank documents, school forms and the few letters he'd left behind after he died.

But the words beneath it were unfamiliar.

If the appointed heir refuses the marriage, the agreement shall transfer to the next eligible Vale heir.

I looked at Adrian.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

No answer.

My mother finally stood.

"Amara, we didn't want you to worry."

I turned toward her.

"You didn't want me to worry?"

My voice cracked.

"You let me walk into a wedding thinking I was marrying Ethan."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"I thought Ethan would keep his word."

"And when he didn't?"

She looked at Adrian.

That tiny movement told me everything.

This wasn't a last-minute solution.

They had already planned for this.

I faced Adrian again.

"You knew."

"Yes."

"Before today?"

"Yes."

My stomach twisted.

"How long?"

He didn't answer immediately.

"Long enough."

I laughed bitterly.

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting right now."

I stared at him.

There was something deeply unsettling about him.

Not because he was cruel.

Because he seemed to know far more than he was willing to say.

And I hated that.

I hated being the only person in the room who didn't understand what was happening.

I folded the document.

"I'm leaving."

My mother immediately grabbed my wrist.

"Amara."

"No."

I pulled my hand free.

"I'm not doing this."

Adrian's expression remained unreadable.

"Then walk away."

I looked at him.

He stepped aside.

For one brief second, I thought he'd actually let me go.

Then he spoke.

"But before you do, ask your mother what happens tomorrow morning."

My feet stopped.

I slowly turned.

My mother had gone pale.

"Mom?"

She said nothing.

"What's happening tomorrow?"

Her lips trembled.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me."

She closed her eyes.

"The bank is coming."

My chest tightened.

"What bank?"

"Your father's creditors."

I stared at her.

She continued quietly.

"The company your father left behind wasn't just in debt, Amara. There were guarantees. Loans. Properties used as collateral."

I shook my head.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you had enough to deal with."

"No. You didn't tell me because you knew I'd refuse."

She looked away.

And that was when I realized something.

My mother hadn't been protecting me.

She'd been making decisions for me.

I turned to Adrian.

"How much?"

He didn't respond.

"How much do I owe?"

"It's not your debt."

"Then whose is it?"

"Your father's."

"And why does my marriage affect it?"

Adrian's eyes hardened.

"Because your father made a deal with mine."

My pulse quickened.

"What kind of deal?"

Before he could answer, the lights suddenly went out.

The entire hall fell into darkness.

Someone screamed.

Chairs scraped across the floor.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Then I heard something.

A crash.

Glass breaking.

Someone shouted.

"Lock the doors!"

Panic exploded through the room.

I couldn't see anything.

"Mom?"

I reached out blindly.

Nothing.

"Mom!"

A hand suddenly closed around my wrist.

I gasped.

"Don't move."

Adrian.

His voice was right beside me.

I tried to pull away.

"Let go."

"Not yet."

"Adrian—"

"Someone's inside."

I froze.

A second later, the emergency lights flickered on.

The room came into view.

People were standing.

Some were shouting.

The large window near the back of the hall was shattered.

And my mother was gone.

My blood ran cold.

"Where's my mother?"

Nobody answered.

I pushed through the crowd.

"Mom!"

Adrian caught up with me.

"Amara, wait."

"She's gone!"

"I know."

I stopped.

"What do you mean you know?"

His eyes moved toward the broken window.

"She didn't leave through the door."

A horrible realization settled over me.

Someone had taken her.

We found her ten minutes later.

Not outside.

Not in the parking lot.

She was in one of the private corridors behind the hall.

Alone.

Sitting on the floor.

Her wedding outfit was torn at the sleeve, and she was clutching something tightly in her hand.

I rushed toward her.

"Mom!"

She looked up.

For a moment, she seemed relieved.

Then she saw Adrian behind me.

Her expression changed.

Fear.

Real fear.

"Don't let him come closer."

I stopped.

Adrian stopped too.

My heart began pounding again.

"Mom?"

She looked at me.

"Amara, listen to me carefully."

I crouched beside her.

"What happened?"

She opened her hand.

A small silver key rested in her palm.

I frowned.

"What is that?"

"Your father gave it to me."

"When?"

"Before he died."

I stared at her.

"You told me Dad didn't leave anything."

"I lied."

My mouth went dry.

"Why?"

"Because I was trying to keep you safe."

"From what?"

She looked past me at Adrian.

"From the Vales."

Adrian's jaw tightened.

"Mrs. Cole—"

"Don't."

Her voice shook.

"You have no right to be here."

Adrian said nothing.

I looked between them.

"What is going on?"

My mother reached for my hand.

"Your father discovered something about the Vale family."

"What?"

"He was going to expose them."

"Expose them for what?"

She shook her head.

"I don't know everything."

"Then what do you know?"

Her eyes filled with tears.

"I know he was terrified."

My heart hurt.

I'd spent years believing my father had simply failed.

That his business collapsed.

That the stress had destroyed him.

But my mother was telling me there was more.

Something hidden.

Something involving the most powerful family we'd ever known.

"What did Dad discover?"

She whispered:

"An account."

"What account?"

"An offshore account."

Adrian suddenly stepped forward.

"What account?"

My mother looked at him.

"You don't know?"

His face changed.

For the first time, Adrian looked genuinely shocked.

"What are you talking about?"

My mother clutched the key tighter.

"Your father knows."

Adrian went still.

"My father?"

She nodded.

Then she looked at me.

"Your father didn't die because his business failed."

Silence.

My entire body went numb.

"What are you saying?"

She swallowed.

"He was killed."

The world seemed to tilt.

"No."

"Amara—"

"No."

I stood.

"No, Mom."

My voice shook.

"That's not possible."

"I found him that morning."

She started crying.

"He wasn't supposed to be alone."

I backed away.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because whoever did it was still looking for what he had."

I looked at the key.

"What does this open?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"He told me never to use it unless the Vale family came for you."

My breathing stopped.

"The Vale family came for me."

My mother nodded.

"That's why I knew it was time."

Adrian walked toward us.

"Give me the key."

I immediately stepped between him and my mother.

"No."

His eyes met mine.

"Amara, whatever your father left behind could put you in danger."

"You expect me to trust you?"

"No."

He paused.

"Not yet."

The honesty caught me off guard.

He looked at my mother.

"Where is the account?"

She shook her head.

"I don't know."

"Who knows?"

"My husband."

"He's dead."

"I know."

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"Then who else?"

My mother looked at me.

"You."

I frowned.

"What?"

"You have it."

"I don't."

"You do."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out an old photograph.

She handed it to me.

It was a picture of my father standing outside a building I'd never seen before.

On the back was a handwritten message.

For Amara. When the time comes, look beneath what you inherited.

I turned the photograph over.

My fingers trembled.

"What did I inherit?"

My mother whispered:

"Your father's old office."

I stared at her.

That office had been locked since his death.

I hadn't entered it in six years.

Then Adrian spoke.

"Where is it?"

I looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because if your father hid evidence, that's where he would have kept it."

I shook my head.

"You aren't coming."

"I am."

"No."

"Amara."

"I said no."

He stepped closer.

"You don't understand what you've just become involved in."

"And you do?"

"More than you think."

I stared into his eyes.

"What aren't you telling me?"

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then his phone rang.

He answered.

"Yes?"

His expression changed.

"What?"

He turned away from us.

I watched his shoulders stiffen.

Then he ended the call.

"What happened?" I asked.

He looked directly at me.

"Ethan has been found."

My heart jumped.

"Where?"

Adrian didn't answer.

"Adrian."

His face was grim.

"At your father's old office."

I felt the blood drain from my face.

"Is he okay?"

Adrian looked at the key in my hand.

"No."

A pause.

"He's dead."

I couldn't breathe.

Then Adrian added the words that made my blood run cold.

"And the police found a message written beside him."

"What message?"

His eyes stayed on mine.

It contained only four words.