The Marriage Contract

Chapter1

Anna

The face staring back at me in the mirror was mine, but she wasn't me. She looked nothing like me. She was someone else. An imposter, a necessary one at that. She was a mask. A mask that was going to be glued to my skin for the next year.

"My name is Anna Cole," I said. I'd been practising what I wanted her to sound like for the past fifteen minutes, and I still hadn't gotten it right.

Or maybe I just didn't want the mask to take over completely.

"My name is Anna Cole." This time it sounded more restrained and higher-pitched. It made my stomach turn. Hearing my own voice, but seeing someone else. I was done with this.

My hair was in pieces on the counter in front of me and on the floor. The scissors I'd used were still lying somewhere among the strands. I'd cut it myself because there was no point going to a salon and leaving a trail that didn't need to exist.

This person, this new me, was getting married today. To someone she was going to be meeting for the first time for a job that could potentially put her life, my life, in danger.

I knew what I was agreeing to the moment I accepted the assignment. I also knew I was the best option they had. Young. Under thirty. Fit enough to handle myself. Quiet enough not to attract attention. And, apparently, exactly the type of woman Marco Belucci would agree to marry.

I hadn't questioned why the description was so specific. At the time, all I knew was that I wanted the role. I had to take it.

And now I was here, in a fake apartment, practising my fake name, for my fake marriage to bring my very real, very dangerous would-be husband down. All for the agency. All for justice.

My phone started to ring, and I knew immediately it was Jace calling. I quickly swept my chopped-up hair into a bag and threw it into the trashcan. I was already dressed in a simple skirt suit with a white blazer. Very fitting for a formal wedding.

I picked up my bag and headed downstairs. Jace was waiting in the car. It was a yellow taxicab, another camouflage. I climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door.

The courthouse was twenty minutes away.

In twenty minutes, Anna Cole would become Anna Belucci. And there would be no going back.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Jace said, pulling me from my thoughts.

I hesitated. But then I answered, "No."

"You know you don't have to do this, right? There are other ways we can get intel on the Beluccis."

"They're practically untouchable. No one has been able to crack the Belucci family in the past ten years. I know how important this is. You don't have to downplay it to make me think it's simple."

"Agent Voss, do you think the mission is worth more than your life? These people are dangerous."

"And I'm going to be one of them. I'm going to be Anna Belucci."

"On paper."

"On paper, yes. But it will be real to them. The wife of a don would have some protection, some level of power. I'm going to be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. This is what I have to do."

A pause passed between us.

"Irina, you didn't answer the last question I asked."

What could I say? That I was afraid? That I'd stayed up some nights thinking about what could happen if things went wrong? None of that mattered. Justice mattered. The case mattered. And if putting myself at risk was what it took to finally bring the Beluccis down, then that was what I was prepared to do.

"I'll do what I have to do," I said, repeating myself.

Jace didn't push it. He looked out of place sitting in the driver's seat of this small taxicab. It was different from the black jeep he drove courtesy of the bureau. A lot of things were going to be different now.

"Go through this." He said, suddenly producing a file from nowhere. I took it.

The first page was a grainy surveillance photo of Marco flanked by some other henchmen. There were many like that from different angles. There was a photo of a huge mansion which was supposedly the Belucci residence, and where most of the dealings took place. There were also other documents detailing assets owned by the Beluccis and all the unsuccessful charges against them by the bureau that had been dropped. I already knew all of this. But the stakes were different now that I was going to be in the middle of things.

"I know you've gone through this countless times before, but let it serve as a refresher. Leave it here when you get off. If at any point you wish to withdraw from the mission for any reason at all, do not hesitate to let me know."

I nodded in response. Like hell that was going to happen. I was determined to see this through till the end. Till Marco Belucci and all his counterparts were in orange uniforms serving time behind bars for their crimes.

"Your lawyer will be there waiting. His name is Mr Hutch. It was a last-minute change by the bureau, but things will still go as smoothly. I'll contact you with more instructions once you're inside."

That was it. The cab pulled up at the courthouse, and I stepped out.

I dug into my bag to hand him the fare, and as he took it from me, he gave me one last look. "Good luck," he said. Then he drove off.

I started my way up the stairs, and when I got to the first landing, I met someone there waiting.

"You're late." He said, staring me down.

I didn't register it immediately, but once I did, I realised who he was and that he was speaking to me. It was the first time I was hearing Marco Belucci speak, but somehow he sounded exactly like what I'd imagined, even more.

The time on my watch was 12:02 pm. The meeting/marriage was scheduled for 12:00 pm. I was two minutes late, and Marco was looking at me with the most distasteful look on his face. If I could guess what was on his mind, he was probably thinking of calling this whole thing off, but he didn't. He couldn't. He was here today, wearing a tailored black suit that was fit for wedding attire.

I didn't say a word to him as I brushed past him and continued walking into the building.

I could swear that I'd heard him scoff. Or laugh? I wasn't entirely sure. But my little defiance had earned me a space in his books. A spot in his mind.

Marco followed silently behind. Once inside, I located the marriage registry room and sat on the empty chair beside my lawyer.

He walked to his own side of the room and took his place beside his lawyer. Two other men in suits stood at the side. They were probably his guards. He had brought his power into a room where everyone else was supposed to stand equal before the law. Only the guilty would act like that.

The personnel behind the desk began reading the terms of the contract.

"A binding contract of nuptial agreement between Anna Cole and Marco Belucci..." he started to say but trailed off, looking at Marco for approval to continue.

Marco gave a slight nod, and he continued to read.

I scoffed at the thought that even in court, in a room like this, he was still feared and respected. He acted like someone outside the law's grasp, and he knew it.

And that thought irritated me more than I wanted it to. All the more reason to put someone like him behind bars. He had no respect for the law. No respect for due process, or human lives, no sense of decency...

"Intimacy clause. It states that—"

"Skip it." Marco cut in. And the personnel began turning the page.

Could I let this go on? And what was this about an intimacy clause? I thought my lawyers reviewed the contract beforehand. Was I expected to sleep with this monster? For a mission? Could I do this for the mission?

"What's this about an intimacy clause?"

Marco looked at me. It was the second time he'd looked directly at me in an hour, and it made me uneasy. But I had to know.

"It's nothing important; move on." He instructed the personnel behind the desk.

Why did he feel so entitled to be dismissive of me? It wounded something in my pride.

"I want to hear what it has to say," I said. The entire room was quiet. It was as if they were waiting on Marco's word, not mine. Even my lawyer was quiet. I shot him a deathly glare. He was hired by the bureau for me. He was supposed to be on my side.

"My client wishes to hear the terms and cannot agree to terms she was not made aware of; please read ahead," he said. The words came out sounding slightly apologetic.

The personnel looked at Marco, seeking permission. After a beat, he nodded his head slightly, signalling him to continue.

Then he did.

"The intimacy clause states that..."