THE BILLIONAIRE'S CONTRACT WIFE

Chapter Four: The Warning

Clara Bennett stared at the message on her phone.

Ask him what really happened to his mother.

The sender was unknown. The number had no profile picture, and when she tried calling it, the call failed.

She typed a reply.

Who are you?

No response came.

Clara dropped the phone onto her bed and rubbed her tired eyes. Her father's medication was running out, the landlord was threatening eviction, and she had barely slept. Now, someone was warning her against the man who had offered her a way out of her financial troubles.

Adrian Blackwood was wealthy enough to solve her problems, but she was beginning to suspect his offer came with complications she could not afford to ignore.

A cough came from her father's bedroom.

Clara hurried inside.

"Dad, are you all right?"

Thomas Bennett sat against his pillows, looking exhausted.

"I'm fine, sweetheart. You should be sleeping."

"So should you."

He studied her face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Clara."

She sighed and sat beside him. Her father had always known when she was hiding something.

"The rent is still a problem," she admitted. "But I might have found a way to handle it."

"What kind of way?"

"A job opportunity."

Thomas took her hand.

"Whatever you decide, don't sacrifice your future because of my illness. I would rather struggle than watch you ruin your life trying to save me."

Clara felt tears sting her eyes.

"You won't be a burden to me. You're my father."

"I know. But I need you to remember that your life matters too."

She kissed his forehead and returned to her room.

The anonymous message remained on her phone.

For the first time, she wondered whether accepting Adrian's proposal might cost her more than she could afford to lose.

The next morning, Clara visited Rachel Morgan, the independent lawyer who had previously helped her father.

Rachel listened carefully as Clara explained the marriage proposal, the twelve-month agreement, and the payment of $250,000, with living expenses and separately defined medical expenses for her father.

When Clara finished, Rachel opened the revised agreement.

"Did you read every page?"

"Twice."

"Good. But reading and understanding a contract are not the same thing."

Rachel examined the clauses concerning payment, termination, privacy, and personal freedom.

"We need to make sure your initial payment is clearly stated. The agreement must also explain what happens if Adrian ends the arrangement early. Your father's medical expenses need a separate, precise provision, and you must retain control over your work, friendships, and private correspondence."

"I raised those issues with him."

"Then we need to make sure the written agreement reflects what you negotiated."

Rachel turned another page and stopped.

"Clara, who is Eleanor Blackwood?"

"Adrian's mother. I thought she died years ago."

Rachel pointed to a paragraph.

The agreement referred to a family memorandum established by Eleanor Blackwood and mentioned her role in introducing Clara to the Blackwood family.

Clara frowned.

"That doesn't make sense. I've never met her."

"Have you asked Adrian about this?"

"No."

Rachel circled the paragraph.

"I'm requesting clarification and the relevant trust provisions. Don't sign anything until we understand why this clause is here."

Clara's phone vibrated.

Another message appeared.

You have been warned once. Do not become another woman the Blackwoods bury.

Her stomach tightened.

Rachel read the message over her shoulder.

"This is serious," she said. "Has anyone threatened you before?"

"No."

"Then we need to establish who is contacting you. Save the messages, and don't delete anything."

Clara nodded, suddenly aware that the decision before her was no longer simply about money.

Someone knew about the proposed marriage. Someone knew about Eleanor Blackwood.

And that person wanted Clara to stay away.

At eleven thirty, Clara arrived at Blackwood Holdings.

She had intended to wait for Rachel's legal review, but the second message had made waiting impossible. She needed answers from Adrian.

After a short wait, Ethan Cole, Adrian's attorney, escorted her to the executive office.

Adrian stood beside the windows, his phone pressed to his ear. He ended the call when Clara entered.

"Miss Bennett. I wasn't expecting you."

"I have questions."

He gestured toward a chair.

"Sit."

"I'd rather stand."

Adrian gave her a measured look but did not argue.

Clara showed him the messages.

"Do you know who sent these?"

His expression changed as he read them. It was a small reaction, but she noticed the tension in his jaw.

"Where did you get this?"

"Someone sent them to me. Twice."

"Did you respond?"

"Yes. The number became unavailable."

Adrian handed the phone to Ethan, who had followed her into the room.

"Find out what you can about the sender."

Ethan nodded and left.

Clara folded her arms.

"You recognize the name in the messages."

"My mother died when I was twenty."

"How did she die?"

Adrian's expression hardened.

"That's personal."

"Her name appears in our marriage agreement. Someone is threatening me because of your family. I think I deserve an explanation."

He walked to his desk.

"My family has had disputes. There are things I don't discuss with strangers."

"Then perhaps you shouldn't be asking a stranger to marry you."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Adrian's gaze remained fixed on her.

"You agreed to consider this arrangement because you need the money. I assumed you understood that my family has complicated affairs."

"I agreed to consider a contract marriage. I did not agree to become involved in threats concerning your dead mother."

"Nobody will harm you."

"You can't guarantee that."

He paused.

"No," he admitted. "I can't control everyone. But I can investigate this."

Clara watched him carefully.

"Did your mother know my father?"

Adrian went still.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because the agreement refers to her introducing me to your family. I've never met her, and I don't understand why her name is in the document."

He looked away.

Clara took a step closer.

"Do you know Thomas Bennett?"

Adrian's expression shifted again, and this time he made no attempt to hide it.

"Your father's name is Thomas Bennett?"

"Yes. Why?"

Adrian opened a drawer and removed a thin folder. He placed it on the desk between them.

Clara saw her father's name on the cover.

Beneath it were the words:

Eleanor Blackwood's records.

Her breath caught.

"What is this?"

Adrian did not answer immediately.

"It's connected to the reason I asked you to meet me."

Clara stared at him.

"You knew who I was before I came here?"

"I knew your father's name was connected to my mother's final investigation. I didn't know how much you knew."

"You could have told me."

"I needed to establish whether you were aware of the connection."

"And now?"

"Now I need to know what your father told you about the night my mother died."

Clara shook her head.

"My father never mentioned your mother. I don't even know what connection you're talking about."

Adrian studied her face, apparently searching for evidence that she was lying.

At last, he pushed the folder toward her.

"Then perhaps it's time you learned what happened."

Clara reached for it, but Adrian placed his hand over the cover.

"There's something else you should know."

She looked up.

"My mother's death was officially recorded as an accident," he said. "But the final investigation raised questions that were never answered."

Clara's heart began to pound.

"What kind of questions?"

Before Adrian could respond, his office door opened.

Ethan stood in the doorway, his face unusually serious.

"Sir, I think you need to see this."

He held out a sheet of paper.

Adrian read it, and the colour drained from his face.

Clara looked between the two men.

"What is it?"

Adrian slowly lowered the paper.

"It's a copy of a letter my mother wrote shortly before she died."

"What's that got to do with me?"

He met her eyes.

"She mentioned your father by name."

Clara felt the floor shift beneath her.

Her father had never spoken about Eleanor Blackwood. Yet somehow, his name was buried in the records of a woman whose death remained unexplained.

Adrian turned the letter toward her.

At the bottom, beneath Eleanor's signature, was a handwritten sentence.

If anything happens to me, Thomas Bennett must protect the girl.

Clara stared at the words.

The girl.

She looked up at Adrian, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What girl?"

Adrian's answer came quietly.

"That's what I've been trying to discover."