The mafia's collateral

Marry me

ELARA

“Please…”

My voice barely came out.

I stepped forward anyway, even though every instinct inside me was screaming not to move.

“I’ll do anything. Just don’t hurt him.”

The warehouse was colder than I expected. Or maybe it only felt that way because I finally understood where I was.

The air smelled like smoke, expensive cologne, and something I couldn't name.

Fear.

Not mine alone.

Everyone's.

I had never been anywhere like this before. A place where grown men stood in complete silence. Where nobody laughed too loudly. Nobody moved without a reason.

Every person in that room looked dangerous. But they all looked toward one person.

Him.

Massimo Vitale.

I knew his name before I ever saw his face.

Everyone did.

People didn't speak about Massimo Vitale the way they spoke about ordinary men.

They lowered their voices. They looked over their shoulders. They said his name like it carried a warning.

The most feared man in the city.

And now I was standing directly in front of him.

He sat in a black leather chair at the center of the warehouse, completely relaxed. One hand rested against the armrest while the other held a cigar between his fingers.

He wasn't angry. That scared me more.

A man who shouted could lose control. A man who remained calm while deciding someone's fate was far more terrifying.

His dark eyes moved over me slowly. I forced myself not to step back. Not to show him how badly my hands were shaking.

His gaze stopped on my face.

Not Marcus.

Me.

“Anything?” he repeated.

His voice was quiet. Almost gentle. And somehow, that made my stomach twist.

I swallowed.

“Yes.”

My fingers curled tightly into my palms.

“My brother made a mistake.”

The word sounded weak the moment I said it. Because I knew it was more than that.

“But please... don't kill him.”

Silence. No one reacted. They just waited. Like Massimo Vitale's response was the only thing that mattered.

Then he leaned forward slightly.

“Two Million dollars is not a mistake, Elara Voss.”

My breath caught. The way he said my name unsettled me. Not because he knew it. Because he said it like he already knew me.

Marcus had only called me hours ago. He told me he needed my help and has sent me the address.

That was all.

He never told me whose money he had taken. He never told me who he owed.

And if I had known...

If I had known I was walking into Massimo Vitale's territory...

I would have never come.

“Please,” I whispered.

My voice sounded smaller than I wanted.

“There has to be another way.”

“There is.”

For one brief second, my heart lifted. Then his next words made it stop.

“Marry me.”

I stared at him. The words didn't make sense. Maybe fear had finally gotten to me.

Maybe I had misunderstood.

The warehouse seemed to disappear around me.

“What?”

Massimo placed his cigar down slowly.

“You heard me.”

My throat tightened.

“Marry you?”

“Yes.”

A nervous breath escaped me. Not a laugh. Not really.

Just disbelief.

“You’re serious?”

His expression didn't change.

“I don't joke when it comes to business.”

My heartbeat became louder.

Because suddenly I realized he wasn't trying to intimidate me. He didn't need to. He was completely serious.

“You want me to become your wife?”

My voice shook slightly. I hated that he noticed.

“You don't even know me.”

Massimo's eyes remained on mine. He didn't respond immediately. He simply grinned.

A chill moved through me.

“Your brother owes me money.”

His gaze shifted briefly toward Marcus.

“Money he cannot repay.”

Then back to me.

“But you can.”

I felt my fingers go cold.

“What does that mean?”

“It means you sign a marriage contract.”

His voice remained calm.

“You become my wife. Your brother's debt disappears.”

I looked at Marcus. Then back at Massimo.

My chest tightened painfully. He was asking me to marry him.

A man whose world was drenched in violence and danger. He wasn't the kind of man I dreamed of loving. He wasn't the kind of man I imagined growing old with. He was the kind of man I should have been running from.

“You simply needs to decide whether your brother's life is worth your sacrifice, Elara.”

The words settled over me like a weight. Whether my brother's life was worth my sacrifice. It sounded like a choice. But standing there, surrounded by armed men, with Massimo Vitale watching me like he already knew the answer...

It didn't feel like one.

Before I could respond, Marcus stepped forward.

“Elara.”

I turned toward him. His face was pale.

“Please.”

The fear in his eyes should have made me feel sorry for him.

It should have reminded me of every moment I had protected him. Every time I had fixed his mistakes. Every time I had chosen him over myself.

But all I could see was the truth. He had brought me here. And now he was waiting for me to save him.

“Marcus...”

My voice came out quietly. He couldn't meet my eyes.

“Just agree.”

For a second, I thought I had heard him wrong.

“Agree to what?”

His throat moved.

“Marry him.”

The room seemed to tilt. I stared at him.

My brother.

The only family I had left.

“You’re really asking me to marry him?”

I glanced at Massimo without meaning to. He was still watching me. Still calm. Still completely in control. And that scared me more than anger would have.

“It's the only way,” Marcus whispered.

I looked back at him.

“The only way?”

My voice shook.

“Marcus, do you even hear yourself? A man like that is asking to marry your sister to pay off your debt. Aren't you even concerned about what he would do to me?”

His eyes filled with panic.

“Elara, please. I don't want to die.”

Something inside me cracked.

“And you think I want this?”

I looked around the warehouse. At the men. At the guards.

At the man sitting in front of me who could decide both our futures with a single sentence.

“For Christ's sake, do you ever stop choosing yourself first? Do you think I'm not afraid?”

I was terrified and hurt but my brother didn't seem to see that.

“I know it's not easy,” Marcus whispered.

I almost laughed. Because he didn't know. Not really.

“You're strong,” he said. “You'll survive.”

I scoffed. Survive. The word burned. That was what people said when they wanted someone else to carry their pain.

I looked at him.

The brother whose debts I had helped pay. Whose mistakes I had covered. Whose excuses I had defended. And now, when it was finally his turn to protect me...

He was handing me over to a man I was terrified of. A man who could do anything to me without facing any consequence.

“Marcus.”

My voice became quieter.

“What did you tell him about me?”

His silence came first.

Then:

“Nothing bad.”

A bitter feeling rose in my chest.

“Nothing bad?”

I shook my head.

“You brought me here. You stood in front of a man everyone fears and offered me as payment.”

My eyes burned.

“Tell me what part of that is supposed to be good. Tell me, Marcus. What did you discuss with him before calling me here?”

Marcus looked away.

“I told him you're a good woman.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

He swallowed.

“I told him you're responsible. That you don't cause problems. That you're the kind of woman someone would want as a wife.”

My stomach twisted. Not because the words were untrue. Because they sounded like a description from a stranger.

Like he wasn't talking about his sister. Like he was presenting something valuable. Something useful.

Something that could save him.

Behind me, Massimo remained silent. I could feel his presence without looking at him.

Like the entire room moved around him.

“Marcus...”

My voice broke.

“How could you?”

His expression crumpled.

“I'm sorry.”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“Don't say sorry.”

I wiped at my cheek before the tears could fall.

“Sorry is what people say after they make a mistake.”

I looked directly at him.

“This wasn't a mistake.”

His face changed.

“You chose this.”

The truth hung between us. Marcus looked down. And somehow, that hurt more than anything he could have said.

“Enough.”

Massimo's voice cut through the room.

Everything stopped. Not because he raised his voice. Because he didn't need to.

My body went tense instinctively. Even Marcus reacted. His head lifted immediately.

Massimo looked at him.

“You came here because you wanted your debt erased.”

Marcus nodded quickly.

“Yes, Mr. Vitale.”

“And your solution was to offer your sister.”

Marcus opened his mouth.

“I didn't mean—”

“You did.”

The calmness in Massimo's voice sent a chill through me.

There was no anger. No emotion. Just certainty.

“You made your choice the moment you brought her here.”

Marcus went silent. Massimo turned his attention back to me. And even though I hated it...

Even though I hated that my eyes kept finding him... I couldn't ignore the fact that everyone in the room obeyed him.

“Do you know what happens when people owe me money, Elara?”

I forced myself to answer.

“No.”

“They run.”

His gaze hardened.

“They lie. They beg. They promise things they cannot keep.”

A pause.

“And when they have nothing left to offer...”

His eyes moved briefly to Marcus.

“They offer someone else.”

My chest tightened. I stared at Marcus. I waited for him to say something... anything.

Marcus finally whispered.

“I didn't know what else to do.”

I closed my eyes, and a tear slipped down my cheek.

Had I gone wrong somewhere?

I had sheltered us after we lost our parents. At only fourteen years old, I had taken on the role of both a sister and a parent, trying to fill the emptiness they left behind. I sacrificed my own childhood, my dreams, even my education, all because I wanted to see my brother finish school and have a better life.

I gave him everything I had. And what did I get in return?

He stole from me. He dragged himself into trouble with the police, got into fights, threw parties, sold drugs, and kept making choices that could destroy everything we had fought to build.

Maybe I had failed somewhere along the way.

Maybe I had been so focused on saving him that I had forgotten how to save myself.

Or maybe...

Maybe I should have been the one who died in that accident instead of our parents. At least, I wouldn't have to watch my only brother offer me as a price for his debt.

Massimo reached for a folder on the table.

When he placed it in front of me, the sound seemed louder than it should have been.

I looked down. A contract. My stomach twisted.

“Read it.”

I didn't touch it.

“What is it?”

“Read it.”

I stared at the words. Marriage contract.

The words felt unreal.

“You prepared this already.”

Massimo's expression remained unreadable but he didn't spare me a response. My eyes dropped to the papers. My name. His name. A signature line between us.

A future I never chose.

“Refuse,” he said quietly, “and your brother leaves here with his debt.”

Hope flickered. Then he continued.

“And the consequences of that debt will follow him.”

The hope disappeared.

Because I finally understood. This wasn't a choice. Not really. My fingers hovered over the contract, trembling.

Why would Massimo Vitale agree to marry me in exchange for my brother's debt?

Men like him didn't do anything without a reason. Would he make my life a living hell? Torture me in ways I couldn't even begin to imagine?

Oh, God...

Please help me.

Then Massimo spoke.

“Choose carefully, Elara.”

I looked up.

His dark eyes held mine.

“Because once you sign this..”

A pause.

“There is no going back.”