Chapter 2: A Bride Under Threat
1224 Words
The photograph slipped from my trembling fingers.
It landed faceup on James Sterling's desk.
My father's terrified eyes seemed to stare straight into mine.
A masked man stood behind him, pressing a black pistol against his head.
Across the photograph, written in thick red ink, were seven chilling words.
DON'T MARRY HIM... OR HE DIES TONIGHT.
My heartbeat stopped.
"N-No..."
I snatched the photograph from the desk, hoping it wasn't real.
It had to be edited.
It had to be fake.
"Dad..."
My voice cracked.
James took the photograph from my shaking hands and studied it for a few seconds.
His expression didn't change.
Instead, he picked up his phone.
"Trace the sender."
His voice was calm.
Cold.
"Now."
He ended the call and looked at me.
"This picture was taken less than five minutes ago."
The room spun.
"He... he's in the hospital."
"He was."
"What do you mean, was?"
James's gray eyes darkened.
"My cousin has already made his move."
Fear tightened around my chest.
"I don't understand."
"You don't need to."
"I do!" I shouted.
"My father is involved now!"
James walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Manhattan.
Rain lashed against the glass as thunder rolled across the city.
"My grandfather's death left more than money behind."
He kept his back to me.
"It left enemies."
"So your family is dragging innocent people into your war?"
His shoulders stiffened.
"I never intended for that to happen."
I laughed bitterly.
"But it did."
Silence stretched between us.
Then James turned around.
For the first time...
I saw guilt in his eyes.
It disappeared almost immediately.
"I'll get your father back."
"How?"
"I have people searching already."
"And if they don't find him?"
His jaw tightened.
"They will."
His confidence only made me angrier.
"You keep talking like you control everything."
"I usually do."
"Well, you don't control this!"
Tears spilled down my cheeks.
"My father could die because of your family!"
James closed the distance between us.
"So could you."
His words stole the air from my lungs.
"What?"
"My cousin isn't threatening your father."
He paused.
"He's threatening my future."
Realization hit me.
"Me."
James nodded.
"The moment you walked into this building..."
His voice dropped lower.
"...you became part of this war."
I stepped backward.
"I should leave."
"No."
"You said I was free to walk away."
"I was."
His eyes locked onto mine.
"Before this photograph arrived."
My pulse quickened.
"What are you saying?"
"If you leave now..."
He paused.
"...you won't survive the night."
A chill crawled down my spine.
Before I could answer, Evelyn rushed into the office without knocking.
"Mr. Sterling!"
James turned immediately.
"What happened?"
"The hospital just called."
My heart nearly stopped.
"What about my father?"
Evelyn looked at me with sympathy.
"The security cameras went offline ten minutes ago."
James's expression hardened.
"And?"
She swallowed.
"When the cameras came back..."
Her voice shook.
"...Mr. Bennett was gone."
The room went silent.
Gone.
The word echoed in my head until I couldn't hear anything else.
My legs gave out beneath me.
Before I hit the floor...
Strong arms caught me.
James held me against his chest.
His heartbeat was steady.
Mine wasn't.
I buried my face against his suit as tears streamed down my cheeks.
"I can't lose him."
His hand rested gently on my back.
"You won't."
I looked up at him.
"You don't know that."
His gray eyes never left mine.
"No."
His voice was low.
"But I know one thing."
"What?"
He released me slowly.
"My cousin just made the biggest mistake of his life."
Before I could ask what he meant...
The office lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Then—
A loud gunshot shattered the silence.
Someone screamed outside the office.
And a cold voice echoed through the darkness.
"James Sterling... your time is up."
The gunshot echoed through the office.
I gasped and instinctively clung to James.
The emergency lights flickered on, bathing the room in a dim red glow.
Outside, people screamed as the sound of running footsteps filled the hallway.
James wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me behind his desk.
"Stay here."
His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it that sent chills through me.
"What about you?"
"I'm ending this."
Before I could stop him, he reached into a hidden drawer beneath the desk and pulled out a black handgun.
My eyes widened.
"You have a gun?"
"I prepared for the day my enemies came."
A second gunshot shattered the glass doors leading into the executive hallway.
James immediately pushed me lower behind the desk.
"Don't move."
The office door burst open.
Three men dressed in black tactical gear stormed inside.
Each wore a mask that concealed his face.
One of them raised his weapon.
"There he is!"
Without hesitation, James fired.
The deafening blast echoed through the room.
The gunman stumbled backward, dropping his weapon as the other two dove behind a marble pillar.
"Move!" James shouted.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward a hidden door behind a bookshelf.
I stared at him in disbelief.
"There's a secret passage?"
"My grandfather built it."
He pressed a concealed button.
The bookshelf slid open, revealing a narrow staircase leading downward.
"Hurry."
We barely made it inside before bullets ripped through the office behind us.
The heavy steel door slammed shut.
Silence followed.
My entire body trembled.
James checked the security monitor mounted on the wall.
"They're searching the office."
"Will they find us?"
"No."
He reached for his phone, but the screen remained black.
"No signal."
"They're jamming it," he muttered.
Fear tightened around my chest.
"So we're trapped?"
"For the moment."
The narrow hallway was dimly lit, stretching deep beneath the building.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
"I never imagined my life would turn into this."
James looked at me.
"Neither did I."
His answer caught me off guard.
For the first time, the ruthless billionaire standing beside me looked exhausted.
Almost... lonely.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
I blinked.
"What?"
"I'm sorry you were dragged into my family's war."
His apology sounded sincere.
Before I could respond, the emergency monitor suddenly flickered back to life.
A masked man appeared on the screen.
He was sitting comfortably in James's office.
One hand rested on the leather chair.
The other held a familiar silver pocket watch.
My father's pocket watch.
I froze.
The man slowly removed his mask.
A handsome man in his early thirties smiled at the camera.
His blue eyes were filled with amusement.
"So..."
He leaned closer.
"You're the woman James chose."
He chuckled.
"I expected someone... stronger."
My hands curled into fists.
"What did you do with my father?"
Victor Sterling ignored my question.
Instead, he looked directly into the camera.
"Hello, cousin."
His smile widened.
"If you want your father-in-law back alive..."
He held up the pocket watch.
"Come to Pier Seventeen."
He paused.
"Midnight."
Then his smile disappeared.
"And come alone."
The screen went black.
James stared at the blank monitor for several seconds.
His expression became unreadable.
Finally, he spoke.
"I know exactly what Victor wants."
"What?"
He looked at me with cold determination.
"He doesn't want the company anymore."
A knot formed in my stomach.
"Then what does he want?"
James's jaw tightened.
"He wants my wife."
- Writer
