CHAPTER 2
1161 Words
POV: Rose Volkov
I didn't sleep the rest of the night. I sat on my bed staring at the business card Liam had thrown at me. Black with silver lettering. An address in Manhattan.
My phone buzzed constantly. Texts from friends asking if I was okay. Missed calls from my cousins. Messages from Monica asking about brunch plans.
I ignored all of them.
At 8 AM I finally got up and walked to my closet. Everything in here cost a fortune. Designer dresses, expensive shoes, jewelry my father had given me for birthdays and holidays.
All bought with blood money.
I pulled out a simple black dress and got ready mechanically. Shower. Makeup. Hair. I looked in the mirror and barely recognized myself.
My phone rang. It was an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"You have sixteen minutes." Liam's voice was cold. "Don't be late."
He hung up before I could respond.
I grabbed my purse and headed downstairs. Our penthouse was enormous. Fifteen rooms of luxury that suddenly felt like a crime scene.
How many people had my father killed to afford this?
Marco was waiting in the lobby when I came down. My father's lawyer looked like he hadn't slept either.
"Miss Volkov." He rushed over. "I've been trying to call you. We need to talk before the meeting."
"There's nothing to talk about."
"Please." He grabbed my arm gently. "I've reviewed the preliminary contract terms. This is a death sentence. You'll have no rights, no protection, nothing."
"I don't have a choice."
"There's always a choice." Marco's eyes were desperate. "We can go to the other families. Form an alliance, and fight back."
"With what?" I pulled my arm free. "Liam destroyed everything in one night. My father has nothing left. No men, no enough money, no power."
"Then run. I have contacts overseas. I can get you out of the country by tonight."
"And my father?"
Marco hesitated. "He made his choices, Rose. You don't have to pay for his sins."
"He's still my father." Even saying it made me sick. "I can't just let him die."
"He let a twelve-year-old boy watch his father get murdered." Marco's voice hardened. "He beat an innocent woman into a coma. He stole everything from that family. Does he really deserve your sacrifice?"
I thought about the video. My father's smile as he pulled the trigger. The way he stood there watching that woman get beaten.
"No," I said quietly. "He doesn't deserve it. But I'm not doing this for him."
"Then why?"
"Because if I run, I'll spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. Liam Salvatore doesn't give up. He'll hunt me down no matter where I go." I met Marco's eyes. "At least this way I'm still alive. And alive means I have a chance."
"A chance at what?"
"Survival."
Marco looked at me for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly.
"Then I'm coming with you to the meeting. I'll review every word of that contract."
"Thank you."
We took a car to Manhattan. The law office was in a sleek high-rise overlooking Central Park. It was all looking expensive and intimidating.
Liam was already there when we arrived. He sat behind a massive desk wearing another black suit. Two of his men stood by the door.
"Rose." He didn't stand up. He just gestured to the chairs across from him. "Sit."
I sat down. Marco sat beside me and immediately pulled out a notebook.
Liam's lawyer, a thin man with wire-rimmed glasses, slid a thick contract across the desk.
"The marriage contract," Liam said. "Read it carefully."
Marco grabbed it before I could. He started reading and his face went pale within seconds.
"This is insane," Marco whispered. "She'd be signing away everything. Her bank accounts, her property, her freedom."
"She's signing away nothing she won't get back when I'm done with her," Liam said calmly.
"When you're done with her?" Marco's voice rose. "What does that mean?"
"It means when my revenge is complete, she can go free. If she behaves."
"And if she doesn't?" I asked.
Liam's eyes locked on mine. "Then she gets nothing. She leaves with the clothes on her back and whatever dignity she has left."
"This is a hostage situation, not a marriage," Marco said angrily.
"It's both." Liam leaned back in his chair. "Rose is free to refuse. But then her father dies within the hour."
My hands clenched in my lap. "What are the terms?"
"Simple." Liam counted on his fingers. "You obey me completely. You play the role of a loving wife in public. You live in my house under my rules. You don't contact anyone without my permission. You don't leave the estate without my permission. You don't breathe without my permission."
"That's s*****y," Marco said.
"That's marriage to me." Liam smiled coldly. "Do you accept, Rose?"
I looked at the contract. Forty pages of legal language that all said the same thing: I would belong to him completely.
"Where's my father?" I asked instead.
"He will be somewhere safe. As long as you cooperate."
"I want to see him."
"No."
"Then how do I know he's even alive?"
Liam pulled out his phone and showed me a photo. My father was in a concrete room, chained to a wall. His face was still bloody but he was breathing.
"Satisfied?"
I felt sick but nodded.
"Sign the contract, Rose." Liam pushed a pen toward me. "Or I'll send you his head in a box."
Marco grabbed my wrist. "Don't. Please."
I picked up the pen anyway.
"Miss Volkov, I'm begging you."
"It's okay, Marco." My hand was steady as I signed my name on the last page. "I know what I'm doing."
I didn't. But I signed anyway.
Liam took the contract and smiled. "Smart girl."
"When's the wedding?" My voice was hollow.
"Three days. I've already made arrangements." He stood up. "A car will pick you up tomorrow morning. Pack light. You won't need most of what you own where you're going."
"Where am I going?"
"Home." Liam walked around the desk and stopped in front of me. "My home. My world. My life."
He reached out and touched my face. I flinched but didn't pull away.
"You're mine now, Rose." His thumb brushed my cheek. "Every part of you belongs to me."
"I'll never be yours," I whispered.
"We'll see." He leaned down until his lips were next to my ear. "Three days, Mrs. Salvatore. Try not to run. I'd hate to have to drag you to the altar."
He left without another word. His men followed.
I sat there staring at nothing.
"Rose?" Marco's voice was gentle. "Are you okay?"
"No." I stood up on shaking legs. "But I will be."
I walked out of that office and didn't look back.
Three days until I married the devil. Three days to figure out how to survive.
Three days until my life ended.
- Writer
