Chapter 3:A Contract with Conditions
1115 Words
Seraphina stared at the message on her phone, her pulse pounding in her ears.
Ask your mother about Magnus Vale.
"Seraphina?" Octavia asked again. "You're scaring me."
She quickly locked her screen.
"It's nothing," she lied.
Octavia narrowed her eyes.
"You're a terrible liar."
Normally, Seraphina would have laughed.
Tonight, she couldn't.
Her mind was racing.
Who had sent the message?
And who was Magnus Vale?
The surname couldn't be a coincidence.
Not after her conversation with Caspian.
Not after the way he'd looked at her.
As though he'd spent years hating her.
"Did Caspian Vale say something to you?" Octavia asked.
Seraphina hesitated.
"He offered me an expanded contract."
Octavia's eyes widened.
"Expanded how?"
"Six properties instead of one."
"What?" Octavia nearly shouted. "Seraphina, that's incredible."
"It comes with conditions."
Her friend's excitement faded.
"What kind of conditions?"
"I have to work exclusively for Vale Consortium and move the company into their headquarters."
Octavia considered it for a moment.
"That sounds demanding, but not unreasonable."
"Maybe."
"What's really bothering you?"
Seraphina looked toward the private elevator that led to Caspian's suite.
"He knew things about me, Octavia."
"What things?"
"My debts. The apartment. The investors."
Octavia's expression darkened.
"How?"
"I don't know."
She thought about telling her friend everything.
About the hatred she'd seen in Caspian's eyes.
About the text message.
About the warning.
But the words stayed trapped in her throat.
Because saying them out loud would make them real.
"I'm just tired," she said instead.
Octavia didn't look convinced.
"Call me when you get home."
"I will."
After saying goodbye, Seraphina stepped outside the hotel.
Cold night air brushed against her skin.
She wrapped her coat tighter around herself and hailed a taxi.
As the city lights blurred past the window, she opened the message again.
No name.
No number.
Just those five words.
Ask your mother about Magnus Vale.
Her thumb hovered over the call button beside her mother's contact.
It was nearly midnight.
Too late.
Whatever this was could wait until morning.
At least, that's what she told herself.
But sleep never came.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Caspian's face.
His cold expression.
His piercing gray eyes.
The way he'd said her name.
As though it belonged to him.
---
The next morning, Seraphina drove to her mother's house.
The small cottage sat on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by rose bushes her mother spent hours tending.
It had been their refuge after her father's disappearance.
The place where they had hidden from reporters and whispers.
Her mother opened the door before Seraphina had a chance to knock.
"You're here early," Helena Arden said.
Then she frowned.
"You look exhausted."
"I didn't sleep well."
Helena stepped aside.
"Come in."
The familiar scent of coffee and vanilla filled the kitchen.
Normally, it comforted her.
Today, it only made her more anxious.
Her mother poured two cups of coffee and sat across from her.
"What happened?"
Seraphina took a deep breath.
"Do you know someone named Magnus Vale?"
The color drained from Helena's face.
The coffee cup slipped from her fingers.
It shattered against the floor.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Seraphina's heart hammered.
Her mother's reaction told her everything.
She knew.
"Mom?"
Helena stared at the broken pieces on the floor.
"Who told you that name?"
"Do you know him?"
"Who told you?" her mother repeated sharply.
The fear in her voice sent chills down Seraphina's spine.
"Mom, please."
Helena stood abruptly and turned away.
"Some things are better left in the past."
Seraphina rose from her chair.
"Not anymore."
Her mother pressed trembling hands against the kitchen counter.
"Your father made mistakes."
"What mistakes?"
Helena closed her eyes.
"Things happened between the Ardens and the Vales years ago."
Seraphina's breath caught.
"The Vales?"
Her mother nodded.
"Magnus Vale was Caspian's father."
The room spun.
Caspian's father.
Oh God.
That's why he'd looked at her that way.
"Mom," Seraphina whispered, "what happened?"
Helena shook her head.
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because the truth won't change anything."
"That's not your decision to make."
Her mother's eyes filled with tears.
"You don't understand."
"Then help me understand."
Helena looked more frightened than Seraphina had ever seen her.
"Stay away from Caspian Vale."
The words landed like a slap.
"What?"
"Promise me."
"Mom—"
"Promise me, Seraphina."
"I can't."
Helena grabbed her hand.
"He's dangerous."
For the first time in years, Seraphina saw genuine terror in her mother's eyes.
Not grief.
Not sadness.
Fear.
"What did Dad do?" she asked quietly.
Helena released her hand.
"I said too much already."
"Mom—"
"I'm sorry."
The finality in her voice ended the conversation.
Seraphina left the house more confused than when she'd arrived.
By the time she reached her car, her phone was ringing.
Octavia.
"Tell me you accepted the contract," her friend said without preamble.
"I haven't decided yet."
"Seraphina, this project could save the company."
She knew that.
God, she knew that.
But every instinct told her to walk away.
Then she remembered the overdue invoices sitting on her desk.
The employees depending on her.
The mortgage payments.
The future she'd fought so hard to protect.
Could she really afford to refuse?
"How long do I have?" Octavia asked.
"Forty-eight hours."
"Then stop overthinking and focus on the facts."
"The facts?"
"He's offering you six luxury properties."
Octavia paused.
"And unless you're leaving something out, you have no reason to say no."
Seraphina glanced at her mother's front door.
No reason.
Except a family secret buried in the past.
Except a billionaire who looked at her like she was the source of all his pain.
Except the fact that she'd spent the entire night thinking about him.
Against her better judgment, she drove to Arden Atelier.
As soon as she entered her office, her assistant rushed toward her.
"Seraphina, there's someone waiting for you."
She frowned.
"Who?"
Before her assistant could answer, the office doors opened.
A tall man in a charcoal suit stepped inside.
She recognized him instantly.
Dorian Blackwell.
Caspian Vale's head of security.
He held out a black envelope.
"Mr. Vale asked me to deliver this personally."
Seraphina accepted it cautiously.
"What is it?"
"The contract," Dorian replied.
She looked down at the envelope.
Heavy.
Expensive.
Intimidating.
Just like the man who sent it.
"Mr. Vale also asked me to tell you something."
Her fingers tightened around the envelope.
"What?"
Dorian met her gaze.
"If you refuse this offer, you will regret it."
Then he turned and walked away.
Leaving Seraphina standing in the middle of her office, clutching the contract that could save her life—
Or destroy it.
- Writer
