DON'S CONTRACT WIFE

THE CHOICE

The Choice

Maya stared at the photograph on Adrian's phone.

Her mother was alive.

That should have been enough to calm her.

It wasn't.

The room felt too quiet.

"Where is she?"

Adrian didn't answer immediately.

"We don't know."

Maya looked at him.

"Then find her."

"We will."

"No."

Her voice cracked.

"I need my mother."

Adrian stepped closer.

"We're going to get her."

Maya looked away, pressing her palms against her eyes.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then she whispered,

"This was supposed to be a contract."

Adrian's expression changed.

"It still is."

She looked at him.

"Is it?"

He didn't respond.

Maya picked up the photograph again.

"Everything started because I needed money."

"I know."

"I thought I'd spend a year pretending to be your wife and then walk away."

Adrian's jaw tightened.

"And now?"

She looked at him.

"I don't know."

The honesty in her voice caught him off guard.

A knock came at the door.

One of Adrian's men entered.

"We traced the message."

Adrian straightened.

"Where?"

"An abandoned hotel near the old harbor."

Maya immediately stood.

"Let's go."

The guard looked at Adrian.

He gave a single nod.

"Prepare the cars."

The drive to the harbor was silent.

Maya sat beside Adrian, staring at the dark streets.

She kept thinking about her mother.

About the bookstore.

About her father.

About the contract that had somehow pulled every hidden part of her life into the open.

Adrian finally spoke.

"If anything happens, stay behind me."

She looked at him.

"You say that a lot."

"Because you don't listen."

"I listen."

"You argue."

"There's a difference."

For the first time that night, his expression softened.

"Not with you."

Maya almost smiled.

Then the cars stopped.

The abandoned hotel stood beside the water.

Its windows were broken.

Its sign hung crookedly above the entrance.

Adrian's men moved first.

They searched the lobby.

"Clear."

They moved deeper into the building.

Maya followed Adrian.

Then they heard a voice.

"Adrian."

He stopped.

Maya recognized it.

Luca.

He stepped out from a dark corridor.

His hands were empty.

But there was something different about him.

He looked exhausted.

"You shouldn't be here," Adrian said.

Luca glanced at Maya.

"Neither should she."

"Where's her mother?"

"I don't have her."

Maya stepped forward.

"You're lying."

Luca shook his head.

"I'm not."

"Then who has her?"

He looked at Adrian.

"Your uncle."

The name hung in the air.

"Victor."

Luca nodded.

Adrian's expression hardened.

"Why would he take her?"

"Because he knows she has the recording."

Maya's heart sank.

"The recording doesn't identify him."

"No."

Luca looked at her.

"But it identifies someone else."

Adrian stared at him.

"Who?"

Luca hesitated.

Then he said,

"My father."

Silence.

Maya frowned.

"Your father?"

"Victor."

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"You're saying your own father ordered the fire?"

Luca looked down.

"I don't know."

He took a breath.

"But I know he was there that night."

Maya stepped closer.

"Why are you helping us?"

Luca looked at her for a long moment.

"Because I made the wrong choice once."

"What choice?"

"I stayed silent."

Before anyone could ask another question, the lights in the building went out.

Darkness swallowed the hallway.

A loud metallic sound came from somewhere below.

Adrian immediately reached for Maya.

"Stay close."

A voice echoed through the building.

"Adrian Moretti."

Victor.

"Bring my niece."

Maya froze.

"Niece?"

Adrian's face changed.

Victor continued.

"She deserves to know why her father really died."

A door slammed somewhere in the darkness.

Then another voice came through a hidden speaker.

Maya's mother's voice.

"Maya, don't come here!"

Maya's heart broke.

"Mum!"

She tried to move forward.

Adrian caught her hand.

"Wait."

"But she's here!"

"I know."

"Then let me go!"

His grip loosened slightly.

Maya looked at him.

He didn't order her.

He simply said,

"If we rush in, we give him exactly what he wants."

She swallowed hard.

"What do we do?"

Adrian looked toward the darkness.

"We make him think he's won."

Luca stepped beside them.

"Then we need a plan."

Maya looked at the two men.

For the first time, they weren't fighting each other.

They were standing together.

And somewhere in that abandoned hotel, Victor was waiting.

Maya looked down at her wedding ring.

The contract had promised twelve months.

She had expected to leave Adrian when those months were over.

But standing there in the darkness, she realized something that frightened her more than the threats surrounding them.

She no longer knew whether she wanted to leave.

And Adrian seemed to realize it too.

His eyes met hers.

Neither spoke.

Then he quietly said,

"Whatever happens tonight, Maya..."

He paused.

"I won't let them take you from me."

Her heart skipped.

Not because of the contract.

Because for the first time, she believed him.

Outside, waves crashed against the harbor walls.

Inside, the game had only just begun.