Contract Marriage with the Ruthless MC President

Chaoter Three : The offer

Dante ordered Jones to dig deeper into Adam Williams.

A few hours later, Jones returned with a thick file containing everything he had managed to uncover.

Dante stood behind his desk, his eyes scanning the documents one page at a time.

His expression remained unreadable until he reached the final page.

Adam Williams had disappeared years ago.

No confirmed address.

No recent photographs.

No traceable bank activity.

Nothing that could tell them where he had gone. Not until he was caught by his men closer to his clubhouse.

Dante closed the file.

"Why did Adam disappear?"

Jones's expression hardened. "That's the problem. Nobody knows."

Dante's fingers tapped against the desk. Adam had once worked for his stepbrother. That alone made his disappearance suspicious.

Men connected to his stepbrother rarely disappeared without a reason.

Dante's gaze hardened. "Make sure he remains alive" Jones nodded agreeing to what he said.

The first rays of sunlight slipped through the narrow window, falling across Aries's face. She groaned softly as her eyelids fluttered open.

For several seconds, she remained still.

She couldn't remember where she was. Then the memories returned.

The underground chamber.

The men.

The gunshot.

The body collapsing to the floor.

And the cold eyes of the man in the black suit.

Aries's heart lurched. She pushed herself upright and looked around the room.

She was no longer in the basement.

The room was small and painted entirely black. A narrow bed stood against one wall, while a bedside table and a wardrobe occupied the remaining space.

A heavy steel door stood opposite the bed. There were bars across the window.

Aries stared at them. Her stomach sank.

She wasn't a guest, She was a prisoner.

Her eyes moved toward a small table beside the bed. A plate of food and a glass of water had been placed there. Beside them was a neatly folded set of clothes.

She stared at them for a moment. Someone had cleaned her up and changed her clothes while she was unconscious.

The thought made her uncomfortable. She touched the fabric cautiously.

She couldn't understand why they were treating her like a prisoner while providing her with food and clean clothes.

And there was one question she couldn't stop thinking about.

Why did he stop Serena?

If Dante Marino truly wanted her dead, he could have allowed Serena to continue. But he didn't.

Why?

Before she could think further, a metallic click echoed through the room. The door was unlocking.

Aries immediately climbed off the bed. Her back pressed against the wall as she stared at the door. It opened.

A tall, broad-shouldered man stepped inside. Black ink covered his muscular forearms, disappearing beneath the sleeves of his dark shirt. He looked intimidating, but unlike the men in the basement, there was something almost relaxed about him.

He noticed her fear and stopped several feet away. "Relax." His voice was surprisingly calm.

Aries didn't move.

The man raised both hands slightly, keeping them where she could see them. "My name is Jones."

He offered her a small smile. "I've been sent to take you to the President."

Aries swallowed. "The President?"

"Dante."

Hearing his name made her body tense. Jones noticed. "You don't have to be afraid of me."

Aries almost laughed. She had learned a long time ago that dangerous people didn't always look dangerous. Slowly, she pushed herself away from the wall.

Jones stepped aside, allowing her to walk ahead of him. She followed cautiously. The moment she entered the hallway, her fear briefly gave way to astonishment.

The mansion was enormous. White marble floors stretched beneath her feet. Crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, scattering light across the walls. Expensive paintings decorated the corridors, while gold and silver details were woven into almost everything around her.

It looked less like a house and more like a palace.

But the illusion of safety disappeared when Aries noticed the armed guards stationed throughout the corridors.

The mansion might have been beautiful. She was still a prisoner. After several turns, Jones stopped in front of a pair of large wooden doors.

He knocked once. "Come in."

The deep voice from inside made Aries's heartbeat quicken. Jones opened the door.

Dante stood beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, a phone pressed against his ear. "Father," he said, his voice controlled. "Give me more time."

There was a pause.

His jaw tightened. "I know the rules."

Another silence.

"No."

His voice became colder. "I'll handle it."

The call ended.

For a moment, the calm mask slipped. Dante slammed his phone onto the desk. Several books shifted from the impact and fell to the floor.

He closed his eyes and took a slow breath.

The Marino family has one rule that matters more than the others.

Every heir must be married before turning thirty if he wants to retain his position.

Dante wasn't simply the CEO of Marino Corporation. He was also the President of the Devil Bikers.

If he failed to marry before his birthday, he would lose his position. And his stepbrother would inherit it.

Jones walked into the office as though he had been there a thousand times before and dropped onto the leather sofa.

He poured himself a drink. "You look terrible," he said casually. Dante ignored him.

His attention remained fixed on Aries.

"Sit."

The word wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.

Aries swallowed and slowly lowered herself into the chair opposite his desk. Dante remained standing for a moment before walking behind his desk.

Silence settled over the room. Aries clasped her hands together.

Finally, Dante spoke. "I investigated you."

Her eyes widened.

"You left foster care two years ago."

Aries's fingers tightened.

"You have no known family, no criminal record, and no close relatives."

He opened a file. "You worked at Marino Club"

Aries stared at him.

He knew everything.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Dante closed the file. "Because there's something you don't know."

His eyes locked onto hers. Aries's heartbeat quickened.

Dante studied her for several seconds. Then he said two words.

"Adam Williams."

Aries froze. Her eyes widened. Her breath caught in her throat.

That name.

The only connection she had ever had to the family she had never known. The only piece of information she had been given about her father.

"How do you know that name?"

Dante didn't answer immediately. Instead, he watched her reaction carefully.

"You know him."

Aries's eyes filled with tears. "He's my father."

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Dante's expression didn't change. But internally, his suspicion had been confirmed.

Adam Williams was not merely a name in an old foster care file. He was her father. And somehow, his daughter had walked straight into Dante's world.

Aries wiped quickly at the tears threatening to fall. "What do you know about him?"

Dante leaned back against his desk. "More than you do."

Her heart pounded. "Where is he?"

Dante remained silent.

"Please." Her voice cracked.

"I just want to know if he's alive."

For the first time, something shifted in Dante's expression. "Yes."

Aries stopped breathing.

"He's alive?"

Dante nodded once.

A sob almost escaped her.

For twenty years, she had wondered whether her father had forgotten her, abandoned her, or died without ever knowing she existed.

Now, for the first time, she had a reason to believe she might finally get answers.

"Can I see him?"

Dante studied her.

"You can."

Hope flashed across her face.

Then Dante added, "But nothing comes without a price."

The hope in her eyes faltered. "What do you want?"

Dante walked around the desk. He stopped in front of her. "You need answers about your father."

Aries nodded slowly. "And I need a wife."

Her brows pulled together. "What?"

Dante reached for a document and placed it on the desk between them. Aries stared at it.

"A contract."

She looked up at him. "For what?"

Dante's expression remained completely unreadable. "Marriage."

The word echoed through the room. Aries stared at him as though she had misunderstood.

"Marriage?"

"Yes."

"You're asking me to marry you?"

"I'm offering you an arrangement."

Aries shook her head in disbelief. "Why me?"

Dante's gaze hardened. "Because you need something only I can give you."

Her eyes dropped to the contract.

"And what do you get?"

"A wife."

The answer was simple. But Aries knew there had to be more.

Dante continued.

"My birthday is in seven days. If I am not married before then, I lose my position."

She stared at him. "And you think I'll agree to this?"

"I think you want answers about your father."

Her fingers tightened around the edge of the document.

He was right. That was the one thing she had wanted for most of her life.

To know where she came from. To know why she had been abandoned. To finally look her father in the eyes and ask him why he left her.

But marrying Dante Marino?

The man who had terrified her from the moment she saw him?

It sounded insane.

Dante seemed to read the hesitation on her face.

"One year."

Aries looked up. "What?"

"The marriage will last one year."

She stared at him.

"After one year, the contract ends. You walk away with your freedom."

Her heart beat faster. One year.

It suddenly didn't sound so impossible. She had spent twenty years searching for answers she never thought she'd get.

If she could finally meet her father If she could have her freedom after only one year

Maybe it was a price worth paying.

Dante pushed the contract toward her. "Think about it."

Aries stared at the document.

She knew she should be afraid. She knew she should run.

But for the first time since leaving St. Agnes, there was a possibility that she might finally learn the truth about where she came from.

And that possibility was almost impossible to resist.

She slowly reached for the contract.

One year. That was all.

Then she would be free.

Or at least, that was what she believed.