The Enemy I Married

Chapter Four - Signed at 11:17

Maya opened the apartment door before Sophia could knock.

“You look worse than last night.”

Sophia walked past her and set the folder on the small kitchen table. “He offered me a deal.”

Maya closed the door and followed. “What kind of deal?”

“Marriage. One year. He puts in the money to save the company. I get the voting shares. Ellie loses control.”

Maya stared at her. “You’re serious.”

“He is.”

Sophia sat and opened the folder again. The numbers were still the same. Large enough to clear the debt. Large enough to keep everyone paid. She pushed the pages toward Maya.

Maya read in silence for a full minute. “This is real.”

“Yes.”

“And you told him no.”

“I told him I needed time. He gave me until three.”

Maya checked the clock on the stove. “That’s four hours.”

Sophia rubbed her face. “I know.”

Maya sat across from her. “Talk to me. Out loud.”

“If I say no, Ellie signs with Sterling this afternoon. Half the staff is gone by next month. If I say yes, I marry the man who helped put us in this hole.”

“And you get the company.”

“On paper.”

Maya tapped the folder. “This gives you the voting control, Sophia. Not Ellie. Not the board. You. That’s more than you’ve ever had.”

Sophia stood and walked to the window. The street below looked normal. People moving. Cars passing. None of them had to decide something like this before lunch.

Her phone rang. Marcus.

She answered on speaker. “Uncle Marcus.”

“Ellie just moved the board meeting to two o’clock. She’s pushing the Sterling vote early. I tried to slow it down. I couldn’t.”

Sophia closed her eyes. “How early?”

“Two. Sharp. You need to be there with something better or it’s done.”

Maya mouthed a curse.

Sophia opened her eyes. “I’ll handle it.”

“Sophia—”

“I’ll handle it.” She ended the call.

Maya stood. “That’s two hours, not four.”

“I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

Sophia picked up the folder and held it. Her hands were steady now only because she was gripping it too hard. “I don’t have another buyer. I don’t have cash. I don’t have time.”

“You have a choice.”

“It doesn’t feel like one.”

Maya stepped closer. “Then make the one that keeps the lights on. You can hate him later. You can figure out the rest later. Right now you need to decide if you’re willing to do the hard thing or let Ellie finish what she started.”

Sophia’s phone buzzed again. A text from a number in the accounting department.

*Payroll file came back flagged. Bank is holding the transfer. We need the capital by Monday or checks bounce.*

She showed Maya the screen.

Maya read it and looked up. “That’s the staff.”

“I know.”

Sophia set the phone down and stared at the folder. The language inside was clean. One year. Public appearances. Capital the same day they signed. Voting control transferred immediately.

She thought about the second-floor desks. The people who still asked how she was doing. The ones who had stayed when the first cuts started.

She had spent years making herself small so no one would have a reason to push her out. It had never stopped anyone.

Maya waited.

Sophia picked up her phone and found the number from the email the night before. She hit call before she could stop herself.

Alex answered on the second ring. “Miss Hale.”

“I’ll do it.”

Silence for a second. “Say that again.”

“I’ll marry you. One year. Your terms. But I want the capital transfer the same day we sign the license, and I want the voting shares in my name before the board meets.”

“Done.”

“I want it in writing before two o’clock.”

“Daniel is already drafting the final version. He’ll send it in twenty minutes. Sign it electronically. We’ll handle the license tomorrow morning.”

Sophia pressed her free hand flat on the table. “I want Ellie out of the trust control the moment the ink is dry.”

“That was already in the terms.”

“Good.”

Alex’s voice stayed even. “Be at City Hall at nine tomorrow. Come alone. We’ll make the announcement Monday.”

“All right.”

“Sophia.”

She waited.

“You made the only decision that keeps the company standing. Don’t second-guess it in the next hour.”

The line went dead.

Sophia set the phone down. Her fingers left damp marks on the screen.

Maya watched her. “You just said yes.”

“I did.”

“How do you feel?”

“Like I sold something I can’t get back.”

Maya pulled her into a quick, hard hug. “Then we make sure it’s worth it.”

Sophia’s phone lit up again. An email from Daniel Cho. Attachment: Final Term Sheet – Hale/Voss Arrangement.

She opened it. The language was the same, only tighter. Signature blocks at the bottom. Her name. His name.

Maya leaned over her shoulder. “You have to sign before the board meets.”

Sophia stared at the empty signature line.

Outside, a car horn blared. Someone laughed on the sidewalk. The clock on the stove moved forward another minute.

She moved the cursor to the box, typed her full name, and hit confirm before she could change her mind.

The screen refreshed.

**Document signed. Awaiting countersignature.**

A second later the status updated.

**Countersigned – Alexander Voss. 11:17 a.m.**

Sophia locked the phone.

Maya exhaled. “It’s done.”

Sophia looked at the closed folder on the table and then at the door.

“No,” she said. “It’s just starting.”

Her phone buzzed one more time. The same unknown number.

*You just gave him exactly what he needed. The will clause isn’t the only thing he didn’t tell you. Ask about the five-year non-compete he had your father sign before he died. — V.*

Sophia’s blood went cold.