The CEO's Secret Vow

Izzy Knight was at the window of the large office of her father, which followed with her eyes the outline of Manhattan skyline in the late afternoon sky. The sun was setting and the orange light was pouring down upon the city, when in her heart there was a coolness that nothing could bring warmth to. The family legacy, the Knight empire, was falling apart, as was her life. She had been brought up in this high-rise, in the midst of power and wealth, and had never thought of the day when it would be all in her fingers. However, that was prior to the betrayal. The treaden weight of the last few months had smashed something in her. The business transactions of her father had been legendary and were now being covered with scandal. And however hard she endeavoured to keep it within herself, the reality could not be denied that the empire she was destined to inherit was about to fall upon evil times. You are unreasonable, Izzy, the voice of her father smote her consciousness, and brought her back into the realities of the room. Izzy turned his back on the window and turned to his father. his formerly undaunting appearance had not been sustained during the last few weeks, his figure, which was formerly very imposing, had been turned into one of a man pushed to the wall. Silver had increased in his head, and his features appeared more cut by regrets and fears. I will not, Father, and I will not, and I will not, said Izzy steadily, whilst her heart was churning like a dairy cow's. "I will not marry him. You know who he is." Her father, Harold Knight, sighed deeply, and his eyes were not looking at her as he was shuffling papers on his desk. It was a gesture he frequently used whenever he was attempting to purchase time, to get ready what was to happen. He did not look at her, yet the tension in the room was very tangible. What choice you have, he said at last with a strained voice. This is the sole solution to rescue the company. You have to get married to Dante Montello. The words hit her like a slap. Dante Montello. The name made her sick but she could not reject the truth that her father was correct. Dante, with his merciless ambition and connections to the mafia underworld had become the man that had all the cards. Her father had an empire whose only support was his company to ensure that it did not collapse completely. And now her future must be to this man--this cold, cold man as powerful as ever. No more a chess piece in his game, Izzy said, and stepped forward. He wants to ruin all that we have worked on. How can you ask me to marry him?" At last the eyes of her father met hers and the pain in his eyes was indisputable. "It's not just about us, Izzy. It's about survival. It is all of it... the Knight legacy... your future. You have to do it on behalf of the family. Izzy turned sick at his words. She had been the responsible daughter forever, the one who saw the burden of the inheritance on her. But this--this was too much. She had been nurtured to lead the Knight empire and not to lose her life in the process. "Don't you see, Father?" Izzy cleared his throat, and got himself straight. It is no longer only a business thing. This is my life. My happiness." Her father stood, and the chair grated agonizingly on the marble floor. Do you suppose I want this of you? This has not been my vision of your life, Izzy. But what choice do we have?" He pointed to the documents on his desk, records of debts, contracts and legality threats. The Montello family will have all of it provided that we do not do this deal. The words of her father were in the air, and they were choking her. The reality of the situation could not be avoided. Izzy would scream, would want to discard it all and never step in this office again but the reality was that she was nowhere to go. Her father had ensured that. Izzy's mind raced. A man she had always hated was Dante Montello. Cold. Calculating. And the expression of a man who had seen what the worst the world could give him had given him. He was all that she had been taught to evade, all that she knew she ought to despise. And here was she, when she was told that she must marry him in order to save the empire of her family. You see you do not, she said in a mere whisper. "I can't marry him." Her father looked a little softened, but just a little. He walked up to her, with the burden of his judgment in his face. Izzy, I have already made a deal with the lawyer of Montello. You'll be married in two weeks. It's the only way." A torrent of anger rushed over her. Two weeks? Two weeks was the maximum time she had to prepare a marriage that she did not want, with a man who would never love her. Izzy swiveled her back, and her heart was aching. I will, said she, and her voice was so heavy with bitterness. But do not imagine that I am doing it because of you. I do it so as to salvage what remains of the Knight heritage. Her father nodded, and his face could not be read. "I know. And I will never be able to pay you back this, Izzy." Izzy had a feeling in her harden as the words sank in. This was not her dreamed life, but the life she had to live. For her family. For the legacy. And of something yet she could not name. She had made a decision. And now would she feel the repercussions. When Izzy was standing alone in the stillness of her father in office and the future was looming so heavily on her she could not get rid of the idea that this marriage was not the end. Izzy had been falling free, weeks before, but it took the lawyer to appear at the office of her father before she could realize how deep a hole she had found herself. The face of the empire of Dante Montello was that of a crisp man in his black suit, carrying a briefcase, the last thing she wanted to see. The lawyer bowed to her slightly, with a professional clipped voice, saying, "Miss Knight," the lawyer. You see what you are supposed to do, I hope? She did not reply at once, and her thoughts were busy with the consequences. She had hoped that by refusing to go, she would be able to end this insanity. But her father, who was a pragmatist, had other plans. Let's have it over with, she said to herself, too tired to make any more argument. She would at least do it with this cool indifference with which she had always been armored. The attorney fumbled slowly with his briefcase and drew out a bunch of papers. He put them on the table and was tapping them with his fingers as though she should have leaped at the opportunity. Dante Montello is offering a contract marriage. It was only a mere formality to get the future of your family, he said. He was not looking at her, but talking, and Izzy was aware that this was not a mere ritual Dante took part in, but a game of power. The papers were still fresh, the bargain already made, at least, as far as Dante was concerned. Izzy looked down at the paper. Her name. His name. And a time to pass out of world--one year. She could walk out of a cage in a year and a half, but what would she have left to live after that? You see," the lawyer went on, without rising to a point, this marriage is non-negotiable. The Knight family will be deprived of everything without it. Izzy put her fingers to her forehead and she could feel the weight of inevitability sitting down. The world had fallen so long and she was now numb. Nothing was as bad as the alternative to this, the empire of her father, her future. "Why does he want this?" Izzy said something, but the question had more in it than she meant. She already knew the answer. She just didn't want to hear it. The lawyer didn't flinch. There is a personal interest of Dante Montello in this union. His reasons, as I have been told, are very easy. This is a means to an end." She did not have to inquire what that end was. The fall of her father had been connected with the rise of Montello, and now it all got round to it. This was the marriage of power, revenge and reclaiming what was his. There was a silentness between them, which was full of tension. She might have felt her heart beat fasten, a deadly mixture of feelings in her, anger, fear, and something that she was not quite able to define. "What exactly am I signing?" Her voice was sharp, and Izzy cut through the lines the lawyer was rehearsing. The attorney made a slide of a pen to her. "A contract. An agreement of sorts to establish the future of the Knight family and one that would make Mr. Montello have a stake in the company. You will live like his wife, without complaining. The information is contained within the clauses. He paused. And yes, I have been asked to recall you of the fact that any effort to withdraw will lead to dire consequences to both you and the business of your father. It was politely disguised, but not lost on her. She had no desire to be threatened, yet she could feel the chill metal of his words. Her hands were over the pen. This was it. The time when she would no longer have a course in her life. Izzy sighed deeply, her head in a tumult. She began to think about her father, and the falling of all they had made, and how desperate his eyes had been when he talked of the strength of Montello. So that is what we must do, her father had told her. She signed her name with her hand that moved itself. The ink was like a death penalty. The attorney did not lose a minute. He got up, took the papers and smiled at her, small and cold. You have done the right thing, Miss Knight. I will have the arrangements with Mr. Montello. In 2 weeks, the wedding will take place. Izzy didn't answer. She couldn't. The lawyer had gone, and the door had closed with a soft clicking sound behind him, but Izzy still stood at the table, her decision weighing against her heart. She was empty, as though a section of her was sold to her which she could never recover.