Chapter One: A Plea Under Fire
The door slammed shut, and Catherine spun around, eyes blazing. "You can’t be serious about this. Tell me this is some sick joke, Fred."
Fred didn’t answer immediately, his back against the door, eyes heavy with something she didn’t recognize—shame, guilt...fear?
"I wish I was." His voice was low, almost a whisper.
"You want me to marry Clark Roberts?" Her voice shook, disbelief strangling her words. "The man who treats people like trash? Who walks all over anyone who stands in his way?"
Fred winced, refusing to meet her eyes. "It’s not what I want, Cath. It’s what we need."
"We? We?" Catherine’s chest tightened, anger boiling inside her. "No, Fred. This is about you. Your failing business. Your mess. And now I’m supposed to be the one to fix it by marrying that monster?"
Fred stepped forward, desperation leaking into his voice. "Cath, please—"
"Don’t." She cut him off, eyes sharp, voice trembling with rage. "Don’t you dare act like this is about saving me. You want to hand me over to a man who’s only interested in controlling everything around him, including me. What kind of brother are you?"
Fred’s hands clenched into fists at his sides, the guilt on his face twisting into frustration. "You think I want this? You think I haven’t been up every night, trying to figure another way out of this mess? You think I like begging you to—"
"Begging?" Her laugh was sharp, cold. "This is begging?" She took a step closer, her voice dropping. "This is blackmail, Fred. You’re trying to blackmail me into ruining my life."
Fred’s face tightened, his voice breaking under the strain. "I’m not trying to ruin your life! I’m trying to save mine—and yours! Roberts isn’t just some CEO. He’s dangerous, Cath, and if he doesn’t get what he wants—"
"What?" Catherine’s heart hammered. "What does he want, Fred? Why are you so scared of him?"
Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating. Fred’s jaw clenched, and for a moment, Catherine thought he wouldn’t answer.
"He knows about the debts," Fred muttered, finally. "About Dad’s old debts. He bought them. He owns everything now."
Catherine froze, her blood running cold. "What?"
Fred’s eyes flashed with something close to panic. "The business. The house. Everything. He bought out Dad’s loans months ago. I didn’t know until it was too late. He’s holding everything over my head. If we don’t give him what he wants—"
"He takes it all," Catherine finished, her voice barely a whisper.
Fred nodded, his face pale, sweat beading on his forehead. "Everything."
Catherine’s heart pounded against her ribs. "And he wants me."
Fred’s silence said it all.
She stumbled back, her breath catching in her throat. "Oh my God, Fred. You’ve sold me off to pay for Dad’s mistakes?"
Fred flinched. "It’s not like that—"
"Isn’t it?" Catherine’s voice was ice, but beneath it, panic clawed at her chest. "You’ve handed me over to a man who owns us. He doesn’t care about you, or me, or anyone. I’ll just be...property to him. Another piece of his empire."
Fred stepped forward, grabbing her shoulders. "Cath, listen to me. It’s not ideal, I know that, but this could save us. You could live comfortably—"
"Comfortably?" Catherine jerked away from his grasp, disgust curling in her stomach. "I’d be trapped, Fred. Trapped in a life I didn’t choose. With a man who will destroy me if I don’t fall in line."
Fred’s face crumpled, his voice cracking. "I didn’t want this, Cath. But what choice do we have?"
Catherine’s eyes narrowed, fury rising inside her. "I do. I have a choice. And it’s no."
Fred’s eyes flashed with panic. "If you say no, Cath... He’ll take everything. We’ll lose the house. The shop. Everything Dad left us."
Her breath hitched as his words hit harder than she’d expected. Fred watched her, desperation in every line of his face. "I’m begging you," he whispered. "Please."
Catherine stared at him, feeling the walls closing in. Her own brother, the one person she thought would always protect her, was standing here, begging her to walk into hell.
"Why didn’t you tell me sooner?" she asked, her voice barely audible. "Why didn’t you tell me we were this deep in trouble?"
"I thought I could fix it," Fred said, his voice hoarse. "But it’s too late now. Roberts is...he’s not the kind of man you can fight."
She closed her eyes, trying to breathe, trying to calm the storm inside her. Clark Roberts—her boss, the cold, calculating man who saw people as nothing more than pawns—owned her family’s future. And Fred, the only family she had left, was pushing her toward him.
"You’re asking me to walk into a cage, Fred." Her voice was shaking, but she forced the words out. "A cage I’ll never get out of."
Fred’s eyes filled with tears. "I know. I know, Cath. But if you don’t, we lose everything. And you...you’ll have nothing."
Catherine looked at him, heart pounding, fear and anger and betrayal swirling in her chest. "And if I say yes? What do I have then?"
Fred was silent, unable to meet her eyes.
Catherine felt the ground drop beneath her. There was no winning. Either way, she was lost.
"I’ll think about it," she whispered finally, her voice breaking.
Fred nodded, tears streaming down his face. "That’s all I’m asking."
He left without another word, the door clicking shut behind him, leaving Catherine standing alone, her world crumbling around her
